SingTel has forged a strategic alliance with Inmarsat to jointly offer cyber security tools for the global maritime industry.
Under the partnership, Trustwave, the cyber security arm of Singtel, will provide its Unified Threat Management (UTM) managed solution, to be integrated with Inmarsat hardware onboard ships, to protect data reduce cyber risk for maritime companies.
Singtel said the UTM service offers a suite of cyber security defenses, such as advance firewall, anti-virus, intrusion prevention and web-filtering.
Singtel and Inmarsat plan to launch the new maritime cyber security service in the second half of 2016, the companies said a joint statement.
The new service will be delivered through FleetXpress, the highly anticipated high-speed broadband communication service Inmarsat launched in March for maritime and offshore operators.
Andrew Lim, managing director of business group at SingTel’s Enterprise Group, said the partnership with Inmarsat is important for the company as it marks the first phase in rolling out Singtel cyber security services for Inmarsat.
“As maritime systems become more digital, it is imperative for the industry to protect data onboard ships against all forms of cyber attacks. Our partnership with Inmarsat will provide maritime companies with a cyber security solution to meet rapidly evolving cyber threats, globally,” the executive said.
Gary Gagnon, Inmarsat’s senior vice president of global cyber security, said the partnership with Singtel supports the company’s commitment to the market and elevates the benchmark for maritime cyber security.
“The landscape of shipping is changing. As we move from traditional shipping into the ship intelligence era, the threat of cyber attacks have never been more real,” commented Ronald Spithout, president of Inmarsat Maritime.
“Risks from malicious attacks and unlawful access to a ship’s intelligence, its system infrastructure and networks cannot be ignored, and the shipping industry needs to take action.”
The Singtel-Inmarsat collaboration comes a day after Inmarsat announced it will use its new Global Xpress satellite fleet to provide in-flight connectivity services for the airline industry.