Bureau Veritas and BESSÉ join forces to strengthen cyber security in the maritime sector

Responding to the increasing threat of cyber-attacks in the maritime sector, Bureau Veritas (BV), a world leader in testing, inspection, and certification, and insurance consultancy major BESSÉ have announced a partnership to support shipowners with tailored solutions to improve their cyber security and cyber insurance. 

This partnership will see BESSÉ and BV combine their complementary expertise to help shipping stakeholders manage the risk of cyber-attacks, which has risen in recent years, particularly for shipowners. This will also be key to help them comply with IMO and IACS requirements.

Bureau Veritas helps shipowners and operators develop and implement an effective cyber security strategy on ships and ashore. To this end, BV has developed a set of rules (NR 659) which make up a framework for assessing maritime cyber security. This framework enables BV to assess the level of cyber risk for shipowners/operators and to recommend organizational, technical and procedural measures to reduce this risk to an acceptable level. This process includes:

• Conducting a complete inventory of equipment, systems and networks connected at sea and on land
  
• Conducting a cyber risk analysis to identify vulnerable systems and equipment
  
• Developing and implement a cyber risk management policy
  
• Ensuring the effective implementation of technical and organizational procedures
  
• Enabling shipowners/operators to ensure compliance with imo cyber security requirements
  

Validating the management of cyber risk on board through an additional class notationBESSÉ then responds to the identified risks through insurance solutions, by helping shipowners transfer part of the cyber risk to insurers. As many insurance companies now require their clients to demonstrate high standards for cyber risk management, BESSÉ builds on the results of the systems optimization achieved though BV’s rules to assist its clients in presenting these risks to insurers.

Gildas Tual, Director of BESSÉ Maritime and Logistique, said: "Managing cyber risk is still a new challenge for companies in general, and shipowners and operators in particular. This is why we are delighted to partner with Bureau Veritas to offer tailor-made solutions for our clients.”

Matthieu de Tugny, President of Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore, said: "Thanks to our experience and expertise in maritime cyber security, which we deliver every day to our clients around the world, Bureau Veritas is now able to provide BESSÉ with parameters for assessing the cyber resilience of a ship or a fleet. This evidence-based picture provides the basis for the insurance industry to meet the new expectations of shipowners and operators.”

This partnership is in line with several initiatives in this field. For several years, shipping companies have been regular targets of intrusions and attempted attacks on their information systems. Coming together under the Secretariat General de la Mer, several French stakeholders are providing a coordinated response. Working in parallel to IMO’s work on adapting regulation to help shipowners put appropriate protection measures in place, the Cyber Council of the Maritime World (C2M2) was created, of which BESSÉ and BV are members. Moreover, a France Cyber Maritime Association was created at the end of 2020.