In the maritime world, safety and security are closely linked. The mission of ABS is to serve the public interest as well as the needs of our members and clients by promoting the security of life and property, and preserving the natural environment. For over 150 years, ABS has devoted its energies to promoting safe and efficient commerce by sea through the development and application of industry consensus standards. Initially, the emphasis was on safety, and ABS applied its technology and knowledge to maintain safety through prevention of accidents caused by the forces of nature and human error. While the science of those causes is very complex and is continually being improved, they are amenable to analysis, understanding and prediction. Through the dedication and diligence of everyone in the maritime industries, the safety record of shipping has steadily improved through the years. Cybersecurity introduces an additional element into the safety equation: security against deliberate actions intended to cause harm. Security has always been a concern with naval ships, and the military routinely exercise precautions to maintain the security of their ships and offshore assets. Commercial vessels routinely employ special security measures under certain circumstances to prevent theft, piracy, smuggling or stowaways. Those crimes are usually economically motivated, where destruction is not the goal. Acts of terror are usually politically motivated, and ships and offshore assets are prime targets because of their mobility and high potential for causing extensive damage to life, property, the environment, and the transportation and economic infrastructure. The maritime community has come to the realization that ships and offshore assets must be made less vulnerable to security threats, both at sea and while in port. Perpetrators of such acts have moved toward cyber-attacks for similar purposes. Exposure to these threats has become pervasive due to the exponential growth of automation methods - and increasingly, autonomy - that has penetrated nearly all aspects of shipboard and offshore asset systems. Because these systems control multiple aspects of asset, ship or platform operations, they become integral parts of system and operational safety. ABS supports the marine and offshore communities by developing the standard for marine and offshore cybersecurity, developing new methods and leading industry with best practices in a commitment to safety and security of life and property and preservation of the environment. Cybersecurity refers to the security of information networks and control systems and the equipment and systems that communicate, store and act on data. Cybersecurity encompasses systems, ships and offshore assets, but includes third parties - subcontractors, technicians, suppliers - and external components such as sensors and analytic systems that interface with networks and data systems. This includes human interaction of crews and other Company personnel, customers and potential threat players. In such a dynamic system, cybersecurity is an evolving set of capabilities inside the Company, developing and adapting as technology and threats evolve.

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