Shippers Must Recognize the Risks First

According to Bob Trebilcock of Logistics Management, 75 percent of survey respondents claim to be confident in cybersecurity, but the majority are using out-of-date cybersecurity initiatives. Cybersecurity best practices of even five years prior are susceptible to a higher risk for cyber-attack or malware introduction. Unfortunately, the false perception of safety among today’s supply chain executives, especially those in high-tech markets, presents additional risks to consumers. Thus, shippers have the burden of recognizing the risks that it is from simple processes, including shipping to the dock for receiving and ordering supplies or raw materials.

How to Overcome the High-Tech Inbound Freight Management Cybersecurity Crisis

As noted by Louis Columbus via Forbes, high-tech shippers must follow four steps to reducing inbound cybersecurity risks, including:

• Take a Zero-Trust view of physical and cybersecurity in your inbound logistics strategy. A zero-trust approach to supply chain management means everyone assumes full liability for ensuring the accuracy and cyber security of products and inbound freight. Obviously, it is necessary to trust individual partners and suppliers in the supply chain, but working with reputable companies and established vendors can alleviate some of this process. Even in this case, shippers should still take a proactive approach to ensure that what they receive is what they expect.
• Ensure data stream integrity and security. Data itself can be threatened in inbound freight management. The software and underpinnings of high-tech inbound freight management mean shippers need to ensure the integrity and status streams and their security.
• Implement stringent quality management, compliance, and audit process to achieve Zero Trust. The shipper should also implement strict security measures to validate inbound freight, ensure vendors and suppliers are maintaining an appropriate chain of custody, and utilize audit processes to check for potential issues retroactively.
• Design products and components to be hacker-proof. A general aspect of advanced security for high-tech products is hacker-proof design and manufacturing, but hackers will find a way into your products and services at some point. As a result, shippers should always be on the lookout for potential vulnerabilities and work to improve cybersecurity, as well as design, of their products.
• Check for “physical tampering within components.” Although cyber-attacks are generally thought of as an issue that occurs in the virtual world, they can begin with the introduction of the physical element when someone tampers with a product. Thus, shippers should implement additional protocols for the environmental, visual and automated review of inbound logistics for signs of tampering or other malicious activities.