Escalating geopolitical instability in the South China Seas and The Red Sea are being seen as the root cause behind a rapid rise in cyber-attacks on commercial shipping, as well as a sharp increase in cyber-assisted piracy.

“The risk has escalated significantly in the past year due to heightened geopolitical tensions and increased cyber capabilities of threat actors…The average cost per data breach now exceeds $545,000 for a shipping organization,” says Freight Right Global Logistics CEO Robert Khachatryan.

According to C. Todd Doss, Senior Managing Director at Guidepost Solutions: “Over the past year, these risks have escalated notably. Reports indicate that cyber-attacks on maritime infrastructure and vessels increased by over 20% in 2023 compared to the previous year .”