ClassNK Releases Guidelines for Cyber Security Management

ClassNK has released the second edition of its ‘Guidelines for Cyber Security Management System for Ships’. Intended for shipowners and ship management companies, the guidelines set out the requirements for a Cyber Security Management System (CSMS), through which a Company addresses the cyber risks associated with ship operations as part of its day-to-day work, from governance and responsibilities ashore and onboard to the technical controls applied to shipboard systems. Just as importantly, the Guidelines make ClassNK’s certification audits transparent by showing the assessment criteria applied in them. In audits, ClassNK looks at the governance behind a company’s cyber security: policy and management commitment, defined roles and responsibilities, risk assessment, implementation and operation of controls, and preparedness for incidents.

The second edition has been restructured with reference to ISO/IEC 27001 and ISO/IEC 27002, and the assessment criteria for each CSMS requirement have been clarified. The requirements have also been mapped to the cyber security requirements of major vetting schemes. Cyber security is increasingly covered in the external assessments conducted by maritime stakeholders, and many of those requirements focus on how cyber risk is managed. A CSMS certified against these guidelines gives companies an objective means of demonstrating that governance to external stakeholders, and a single foundation for responding to multiple vetting requirements.

This story was originally published by The Maritime Executive. Read the full story at The Maritime Executive →