Transportation and logistics companies have been digitizing rapidly to increase efficiency, visibility, and responsiveness. Operational technologies deployed in vehicles, with vehicle operators and workers – and even in the shipments themselves – improve the bottom line. But the downside is that new technologies come with cybersecurity challenges. The case in point is the NotPetya ransomware attack on Maersk in 2017 that cost that company up to $300 million dollars. More recently, a trucking company with 3000 refrigerated trucks had files and employee data stolen and held for ransom.
The complexity of protecting the attack surface and of configuring and operating the necessary cybersecurity solutions often outstrip the available skill and resources of IT teams. AI systems and intelligent automation are solving the cybersecurity skills gap and resource challenges facing IT teams. AI and intelligent automation can be employed to watch a company’s IT systems, emails, cloud applications and endpoints for suspicious behavior.
For instance, AI can detect when files are about to be exfiltrated, when possible malware is being forwarded in email and when endpoints or cloud applications might be compromised and then notify administrators or lock systems down automatically without human intervention. For the small percentage of issues that AI and intelligent automation can’t resolve, these solutions send a concise and clear notification to administrators, who then quickly resolve the issue in moments.
Conclusion
Cyberattacks against trucking companies are escalating in volume and sophistication. It’s never been more important for transportation companies to prioritize cybersecurity. Fortunately, advances in AI and automation make easy-to-implement and highly-effective cyber protection more accessible to mid-sized trucking companies than ever.
Growing transportation companies must embrace AI-enabled cybersecurity to give their lean, busy IT teams much needed support and peace of mind, so they can focus on running successful businesses and best serving their customers.
