Cybersecurity in Our Ports

Old sailors would say, “Any port in a storm.” The old sailors that made that quote famous did not have to deal with cybersecurity threats in the ports they sought. Our domestic ports move our economy through trade, but they also have another function. Outside of designated naval bases, there are also strategic ports that are part of the National Port Readiness Network . These ports are maintained as commercial ports but also as ports that can support force deployment in a national security crisis. With so much economic and defense capital sitting in our ports, we are facing a serious problem, cybersecurity. Cybersecurity of our port system is a threat to homeland, economic, and national security and many are not familiar with the extent of the problem. As we continue to consider how to build resilience around our ports, we must look to new technologies to help us secure our ports against coming threats. The implementation of artificial intelligence capabilities to quickly analyze and disseminate threat reporting and to quickly detect anomalies is a must in our port environment. First, an overview of the scope. The MTS If you haven’t heard of MARAD , you should look them up. The Maritime Administration within the Department of Transportation supports “the technical aspects of America's maritime transportation infrastructure -- things like ships and shipping, port and vessel operations, national security, environment, and safety.” A major component of MARAD’s work is the Maritime Transportation System (MTS). According to MARAD, the MTS includes approximately: 25,000 miles of navigable channels 250 locks 3,500 marine terminals thousands of recreational marinas and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway Coordinating with those elements are approximately: 174,000 miles of rail connecting all 48 contiguous States, Canada and Mexico 45,000 miles of interstate highway and 115,000 miles of supporting roadways 1,400 designated intermodal connections Subscribe now In short, the MTS is all the waterways, ports, and enabling infrastructure that make our maritime commerce work. It is under the administration of MARAD, and the US Coast Guard has a security and enforcement role. According to DOT, 99% of overseas trade enters and leaves the US via maritime conveyance. “This waterborne cargo and associated activity contributes more than $500 billion dollars to the U.S. GDP, generates over $200 billion in annual port sector federal/state/local taxes and sustains over 10 million jobs.” It does not take an economist nor a national security expert to see the value of the MTS. Listen to the Podcast The NPRN The National Port Readiness Network is a subset of the ports included in the MTS that is designated as strategically important for defense applications. Those ports are: Anchorage, AK Beaumont, TX Charleston, SC Corpus Christi, TX Port of Everett, WA Guam Gulfport, MS Hampton Roads, VA Jacksonville, FL Long Beach, CA Morehead City, NC Oakland, CA Philadelphia, PA Port Arthur, TX San Diego, CA Savannah, GA Tacoma, WA Wilmington, NC These ports, and the infrastructure around them, are strategically important to defense logistics in peacetime or wartime. The majority of their function surrounds supporting commercial operations, but a defense requirement could arise at any time and these ports need to maintain a different level of readiness. Share The Challenge Ports are a near perfect storm of cybersecurity challenges from authorities, ownership, number of systems, and expected impact of attack. The US Coast Guard has authority to enforce laws and security measures through its Captain of the Port under Title 33 . Captains of the Port are assigned zones within which they have authority as granted by the USCG District Commander. However, the authority granted to the Captain of the Port under Title 33 regarding cyber is limited. The Captain of the Port can restrict vessels from entering a port if a real of threatened cyber incident is taking place. The law also prescribes reporting of a cyber incident to contact with the FBI or CISA but the authority ends there. Even USCG Cyber Command lists its authority regarding the MTS as: Protect the Maritime Transportation System (MTS): Protect maritime critical infrastructure by promoting cyber risk management, providing intelligence on cyber threat actors, and deploy cyber forces in support of the MTS. Note the language to “promote” cyber risk management. This means that much like cybersecurity in other areas of critical infrastructure , cybersecurity is done through relationships, not as enforceable activity. Bottom line : port environments are highly attractive cyber targets with homeland, economic, and national security implications and how we protect them is not clear. The Solution The geopolitical situation of 2025 is one where great power competitors have shown their willingness to use cyber tools broadly and loudly. The recent breaches of the US Treasury and the US telecom infrastructure by suspected China-aligned actors proves this point. Russia has shown its willingness to strike critical infrastructure in Ukraine through cyber and kinetic attacks. This means action on the part of the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense is needed. If current legal and regulatory regimes do not facilitate direct enforcement of cybersecurity standards in ports, DHS and DOD need to get involved and partner with MARAD above their current level. DHS and DOD should invest heavily in artificial intelligence (AI) solutions that can detect and quickly alert IT and cybersecurity personnel to a potential breach. They should also invest in secure, private large language models (LLM) that can help them make sense of intelligence reporting quickly and provide the best possible information to port operators. The security of trade, jobs, and military readiness all converge in ports. It is time to bring the right tools for the job at hand and build AI that will give our port operators the advantage they need to continue keeping us safe.