Although cyber awareness has steadily increased over the years, Kramek (2013) points out that “cybersecurity awareness in U.S. port facilities [is] generally low [and] the cybersecurity culture in U.S. port facilities is generally lacking” (p. 27). This is a frightening revelation considering our reliance on technology today. Poor cybersecurity practices could lead to a number consequences, including lost cargo, delays, disruption, physical or environmental damage. Equally significant is the effect on our economy if ports around the U.S. were to suffer catastrophic cyber-attacks. In 2014, U.S. seaports contributed $4.56 trillion to the economy of which “$4.3 trillion was the economic value created by the movement of cargo through seaports” (DHS, 2016, p. 3). The second, and perhaps less obvious, vulnerability associated with seaports is the coming together of different modes of transportation. Seaports are reliant on truck and rail carriers to move containers from the port to their final destination. Although the container remains the same, the size, shape and composition of the vehicles carrying the containers makes container shipping security that much more difficult. Additionally, these different modes of transportation represent a near limitless number of avenues through which contraband can be moved from one country to virtually any point with
Although cyber awareness has steadily increased over the years, Kramek (2013) points out that “cybersecurity awareness in U.S. port facilities [is] generally low [and] the cybersecurity culture in U.S. port facilities is generally lacking” (p. 27). This is a frightening revelation considering our reliance on technology today. Poor cybersecurity practices could lead to a number consequences, including lost cargo, delays, disruption, physical or environmental damage. Equally significant is the effect on our economy if ports around the U.S. were to suffer catastrophic cyber-attacks. In 2014, U.S. seaports contributed $4.56 trillion to the economy of which “$4.3 trillion was the economic value created by the movement of cargo through seaports” (DHS, 2016, p. 3). The second, and perhaps less obvious, vulnerability associated with seaports is the coming together of different modes of transportation. Seaports are reliant on truck and rail carriers to move containers from the port to their final destination. Although the container remains the same, the size, shape and composition of the vehicles carrying the containers makes container shipping security that much more difficult. Additionally, these different modes of transportation represent a near limitless number of avenues through which contraband can be moved from one country to virtually any point with