North P&I Club Welcomes Airbus to CSO Alliance

Leading aerospace company to bring aviation sector cyber expertise to maritime security community.

North P&I Club has welcomed Airbus to the CSO Alliance, the industry-leading partnership of company security officers (CSOs) established to counter maritime crime.

Airbus, the largest aerospace company in Europe and a world-leading manufacturer, has partnered with CSO Alliance to build a tailor-made, anonymous and secure online crime reporting platform to help counter maritime crime on a global scale. Airbus has already has lots of experience dealing with the cyber security threats facing the shipping industry. With this reporting platform incident data not only can be collected, but risks can be assessed, trends analysed and alerts made available to the community in a timely manner.

Colin Gillespie, Deputy Director (Loss Prevention), at North P&I Club commented, “North fully supports the concept of information sharing on cyber related risks. Airbus’s membership of the CSO Alliance will bring proven experience, knowledge and expertise from the aviation sector. With Airbus’s support the CSO Alliance’s anonymous online reporting portal will actively encourage and facilitate the reporting and sharing of information around cyber risks. Ultimately this can result in cyber risks being dealt with more effectively throughout the maritime supply chain.”

Gillespie continued, “North has long been an advocate of the CSO Alliance’s collaborative approach to sharing security related information. Sharing information about cyber risks helps protect the maritime supply chain against these risks. The creation of this anonymous reporting system is welcomed as it allows cyber risks to be openly shared whilst maintaining commercial and individual confidentiality. Having the backing of an organisation such as Airbus is both welcome and timely for the maritime sector. In today’s cyber environment can you afford not to report?”

ENDS

For further information contact: Kim Heaselden on +44 191 232 5221, or Nick Arthur on +44 1865 514214

Notes to editors

1.  North P&I Club is a leading global marine insurer providing P&I, FD&D, war risks and ancillary insurance to 140 million GT of owned tonnage. Through its guaranteed subsidiary Sunderland Marine, North is also a leading insurer of fishing vessels, small craft and aquaculture risks. The Standard and Poor’s ‘A’ rated Club is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK with regional offices and subsidiaries in China (Hong Kong and Shanghai), Greece, Japan, Singapore and Sunderland Marine offices worldwide. North is a leading member of the International Group of P&I Clubs (IG), with over 12% of the IG’s owned tonnage. The 13 IG clubs provide liability cover for approximately 90% of the world’s ocean-going tonnage and, as a member of the IG, North protects and promotes the interests of the international shipping industry. For further information visit: www.nepia.com

2.  CSO Alliance is an international online community of maritime company security officers (CSOs) run by an experienced, CSO-qualified management team based in Waddesdon, Buckinghamshire, UK. It provides a global, members-only risk management platform for all shipping sectors, helping CSOs to drive best practice and fight organised crime. Founded in 2012, the CSO Alliance has over 380 members from throughout the world who manage the security of more than 6,000 ships of all types. Members, who pay an annual fee of £250, have access to a comprehensive and authoritative real-time incident and attack database and can share information, opinions and learning for mutual benefit. For further information visit: www.csoalliance.com