ClassNK endorses Marlink’s CyberGuard Threat Detection service

(Posted on 30/03/22)

Leading Classification Society ClassNK has granted its Innovation Endorsement for Products & Solutions to Marlink’s CyberGuard Threat Detection, the service for detecting cyber security threats and help shipowners protect against attacks on IT and OT networks.

In July 2020, to promote the spread and development of innovative technologies, the Society launched Innovation Endorsement as a swift certification service in cooperation with technological front runners to establish appropriate evaluation criteria. Among the certification categories, "Products & Solutions" covers digital equipment and software technology installed for use on vessels.

Marlink’s CyberGuard Threat Detection is the service for detecting cyber security threats and help shipowners protect against attacks on IT and OT networks. The company describes it inspects network traffic received from and sent by a vessel and correlates these event logs with multiple threat intelligence engine databases, and through the intuitive CyberGuard Portal, customers can view any detected cyber security threats and respond immediately by applying countermeasures to the onboard XChange platform.

ClassNK has verified the functions of Marlink’s CyberGuard Threat Detection, 1. Cyber Threat & Intrusion Detection System for vessel network traffic, 2. Online CyberGuard Portal to view and react to any detected cyber threats, 3. Cyber Threat alert notifications and reporting, 4. Integrated countermeasures with Marlink’s onboard XChange platform, and issued a certificate to Marlink.

Nicolas Furgé, President, Digital, at Marlink, said: “Awareness of the risks from cyber-attacks is growing in the maritime industry but many vessel operators are not aware of vulnerabilities and threats that are already affecting their operations every day. ClassNK has recognised that CyberGuard can play a key role in helping its shipowners detect and understand threats and take appropriate remediation action.”

Hayato Suga, Executive Vice President, Director of Plan Approval and Technical Solution Division, at ClassNK, said: “ClassNK is focussed on ensuring that the digital tools available to shipping companies perform as expected and provide the level of functionality that the market requires. I hope that our third-party verification will help the industry’s decision-making to adopt the innovative software with confidence.”