At London International Shipping Week, Inmarsat released its new Fleet Secure service, the industry’s first fully-managed service to detect cyber vulnerabilities, respond to threats and protect ships from widespread cyberattack.Fleet Secure is a Unified Threat Management (UTM) and monitoring service that will offer owners and managers a continuous view of the status of their digital security. It detects external attacks via high-speed satellite broadband, and it protects vessel networks from intrusion via infected USB sticks and crew devices. Three different levels of the Fleet Secure service will be available for customers of Inmarsat’s popular Fleet Xpress satellite broadband. The UTM is powered by Trustwave, a world-leading provider of information security solutions, and is available in three service levels.

“Cybercrime is an inevitable downside of the digital economy, on land or at sea,” said Peter Broadhurst, Senior Vice President Safety and Security. “Other maritime cybersecurity offerings we have seen address only part of the threat or some of the management issues. Inmarsat’s new Fleet Secure service provides an all-inclusive, real-time managed monitoring service . . . The threats from cyberattack demand robust technical solutions, network integrity, operational and training support, and raised awareness across the maritime sector.”

The firm says that Fleet Secure complements the strengths of its own satellite and ground network. Inmarsat is also involved in setting global standards for cybersecurity at sea through its support for a working group set up by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS).

Editor’s note: Dutch vendor Port-IT contests Inmarsat’s assertion that Fleet Secure is the first UTM and monitoring service for the maritime industry. Port-IT has developed its own full security package formaritime vessels, called Port-IT Vanir, in collaboration with WatchGuard. Port-IT Vanir launched in late August.