The announcement of the partnership between Templar Executives and Wärtsilä to launch a world-class Cyber Academy and the first Maritime Cyber Emergency Response Team (MCERT) in London and Singapore, has been widely hailed as a timely initiative. The shipping sector carries over 90% of the world’s trade and, hand in hand with an increasingly digital environment, there is a growing imperative to develop sustainable cyber resilience. Setting up a platform that facilitates greater threat reporting and intelligence sharing, and combining this with education and awareness, will benefit the whole of the Maritime ecosystem.
“The international reaction and support we are receiving in the wake of our announcement with Wärtsilä last week highlights the readiness of the maritime community to work together more effectively to better react and protect against future cyber attacks,” observed Andrew Fitzmaurice, CEO, Templar Executives, “Templar Executives is a UK based business that has a long pedigree working alongside the UK government and the Department of International Trade at the forefront of the Cyber agenda.”
Commenting on the announcement of the partnership between Templar Executives and Wärtsilä, DIT released the following statement from Baroness Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion: “The UK has a world-class cyber industry, and cyber exports totaling £1.5bn in 2016. With global demand for software products to protect digital systems rapidly growing, we want more British businesses to seize opportunities across the world.”
“Following on from the successful launch of the National Cyber Security Export Strategy, this government is determined to support UK companies to engage with a range of global organisations to encourage the adoption of international cyber security standards.”
The establishment of the Cyber Academy and MCERT recognises the importance of collaborating and adopting best practices internationally. Wärtsilä’s global maritime presence, Templar Executives leading Cyber Security expertise, governments including UK, Singapore and Finland and the involvement of ecosystem partners, has created a momentum that is testament to the sector’s ambition of ensuring a cyber resilient maritime industry.