The arms race against hackers

Somali pirates and their weapons, among the fishing boats in the port city of Hobyo Jehad Nga

By Ira Boudway

April 14 the International Chamber of Commerce reported that piracy at sea had struck a high. In the first three months of this year, according to the Chamber of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), there were 142 attacks, more than in the first quarter of each year since the Office of maintenance of the track in 1991. Somali pirates were responsible for most of these attacks, which have increased considerably in number and level of violence since 2006, when the Islamic Authority on the coast of Somalia began to crumble in the wake of an invasion to the U.S.-backed by Ethiopian troops. Last year, pirates used guns to at least 243 attacks and took 1,181 hostages. They are now equipped with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They are taking freight transporters in bulk and tankers with their teams and demanding multimillion-dollar ransom.

In addressing this 21st century threat of former version, shipowners, often at the instigation of their insurers, have resorted to tactics, old and new - barbed wire, pipes and fire rooms without danger for long distance, dazzlerset laser acoustic devicesmore recently, armed guards. They have little choice: while the international naval forces have intensified their patrols - creating an international recommended Transit Corridor across the Gulf of Aden in 2009 - pirates responded by broadening the scope of their operations, launching their skiffs of mother vessels far at sea, as well as the coast. Accordingly, the shipping industry was left to to fend by himself to a few square miles of 2.8 million of the ocean. "The Indian Ocean is essentially the book Wild West," says John s. Burnett of Maritime & underwater security Consultants (MUSC) in London.

Two years ago, a consortium of 11 industry groups, including the International Chamber of Shipping and the Baltic and International Maritime Council, began publishing a set of best management practices (BMP) for ships passing through areas of high risk. According to BMP, now in its third iteration, the speed of a ship and her freeboard (the distance between the level of the sea and the bridge) are paramount. Boats with more bridges 25 feet above the water is rarely attacked. And no ship travelling at over 18 knots was flown successfully. The more lucrative targets, especially oil, are also the most vulnerable. Superpétroliers called ships (very large crude carriers) generally move at a maximum speed of 14 knots and, when fully loaded, their bridges are only 12 feet above the waves, explains Michael g. Frodl, a consultant for emerging risks that evaluates piracy for popular Lloyd of London associated with insurers. "I'm an out-of-shape 50 years", he said. "With a rope, even I could figure how to get more than 12 feet.".

When hackers attempt to Board, BMP suggests establishing a Citadel, or a space secure under the bridge where the crew can close engines while they hide and wait for help to arrive or for hackers to abandon the ship. "Some people think just put a lock on the door of the room engine is a Citadel," explains Peter Dobbs, a senior underwriter to Catlin, one of the principal underwriters at Lloyd's. "Good citadels control the ship, have independent supply air and satellite telecommunications, within two or three cords of security and can probably be found by the pirates." Even the most advanced Citadel, however, does overcome pirates if even a crew member is left outside. In the case of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship that made headlines in April 2009 as the first ship flying American to be seized by pirates off the coast of the African coast in more than 200 yearsmost of the crew of 20 members themselves locked in the engine room. The captain, Richard Phillips, suspended above the deck and was finally taken hostage on a lifeboat pirate. He was rescued days later by Navy SEAL snipers.

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