EMSA holds 2023 Maritime Cybersecurity Conference

On 26 October, EMSA organised and hosted the 2023 EMSA Maritime Cybersecurity Conference. The event was attended by 100 participants, representing the European Commission, ENISA, 17 EU Member States, international and European associations, industry and academia.

As was highlighted by our Executive Director, Ms Maja Markovčić Kostelac, during the opening of the Conference: "Cybersecurity is no longer an emerging concern for the maritime sector; it has firmly established itself as a core risk."

Participants had the chance to hear from high level speakers representing the European Commission, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), classification societies, the insurance sector, academic institutions and research institutes, maritime administrations and maritime cybersecurity competence centres. This in-person event gave the opportunity to the attendees to share best practices and foster collaboration in safeguarding maritime cybersecurity.

The topics covered included the effectiveness of regulation in enhancing cybersecurity in shipping; cybersecurity in shipping and supply chains, present and future; enhancing cross-collaboration; and workforce training.

What became apparent during the conference was that no matter how complex the operational environment is, the industry is coming to grips with this new, insidious threat. The importance of information sharing as well as the role of the human factor were a couple of the points for which participants had the chance to discuss with the speakers during the conference.

EMSA, in line with its 5-year strategy, will continue to provide the platform to exchange best practices and ensure cross-sectoral cooperation on cybersecurity for the maritime cluster and to promote cross-collaboration with the European Commission, EU agencies and industry stakeholders, through a variety of cyber specific activities in the years to come.