Nir Aylon: Protecting the sea from cyberthreats

The proliferation of digitalisation has hampered a number of industries that have brought a wave of transformational change by improving and streamlining the workflow. However, it comes with various challenges in the form of cyber-attacks and threats. Over the past two years, cyber threats have targeted weak targets by compromising on compliance, data and privacy concerns. Leaders in the field of cyber security are working with the finger on the bone to address this solution for the protection and security of global businesses.

In the chaos of cyber threats, Nir Aylon He took it upon himself to work with professionals with deep knowledge and experience to protect the marine industry from cyber-attacks. Today leads as Nir CEO And Co.–Founder Of Sideom, An award-winning maritime cyber security company. He also served as a member of the ISO Committee on Marine and Ship Technology and Cyber ​​Security.

Increase

Nir’s professional life evolved into various technical and commercial roles at IBM, initiating the development and research of data protection and disaster recovery solutions for enterprises. He has been involved with a number of successful start-ups developing technology for the business sector. While developing advanced R&D initiatives focused on cyber defense and security, he saw the value and opportunity of creating a highly specialized business in the marine industry. Thus, Nir co-founded Cydome, a maritime cybersecurity company with an excellent team with extensive experience in the marine ecosystem and cybersecurity.

Nir says he faced a unique challenge that had a huge impact. The global shipping industry is the backbone of the world’s supply chain and has historically had a number of security vulnerabilities. He understands that the cyber security threat in the maritime sector is relatively new – and that it is the result of increasing digitization and improvements in satellite communication technology.

Safe method

Since the inception of Sydom, Nir has known that he needs to develop a different approach to cyber security. He revealed that the main inheritors of the maritime cybersecurity sector put a “marine” label on their products and felt that their product development work was done. The reality is that the IT and OT infrastructure within a ship presents a significantly more complex vulnerability, both onboard and off-ship. Cydome starts with a clean design sheet.

Sidom’s mission is to protect the entire supply chain by protecting the marine industry. This industry is the backbone of the world’s supply chain and economy; Therefore, cyber leaders need to act as global protectors for shipping.

Nir says that cyber defense must always be turned on and protected and that it must always protect all points of access. Cydome interacts with innovative solutions to problems and then continuously reviews, evaluates and improves. It has pledged a significant percentage of its revenue back to its R&D development, resulting in an award-winning solution.

Cydome envisions staying one step ahead of innovation and industry problems to help the entire supply chain. It has already implemented initiatives in partnership with a leading maritime university to create a central database for cyber-attacks with a leading transparency and innovation approach in this sector.

Cydome has created a dent in the universe with his solution. Nir said, “Where there is an industry with big problems, there is an opportunity to build a big business by providing solutions.” The global shipping industry is extensive and risky; Figures for 2019 show that 11 billion tons of cargo worth 11 11 trillion was transported by 98,000 ships. Such large numbers attract unwanted attention, and Cydome detects and prevents thousands of attacks on clients’ ships every day.

Unique approach

Cydome’s strategy has always been to invest in research and development to create original, innovative and proactive solutions. Nir noted that the early days of cyber defense were limited to detection and reporting; Active defense and protection, combined with always-on-performance for monitoring, is the way forward.

Sydom is developing and implementing various approaches to support the challenges of the marine industry, such as machine learning (ML), which uses Big Data to provide effective detection and defense against attacks. It focuses on developing automated tools to bring a new level of ease-of-use to real-time cyber incidents. Nir claims, “Since automation is the future, we have brought it into our Compliance Tool, specifically aimed at regulating maritime cyber security, including IMO 2021.”

Ready mentality

The world of cyber security is dynamic and constantly changing. Attackers exploit vulnerabilities, and defenders identify and protect protected assets. Technology, in general, is advancing very fast – creating opportunities for more zero-day exploitation.

Machine learning is a powerful tool that will take this cat-mouse scene to a whole new level when attackers launch new complex, identifiable types of attacks using ML.

Cydome is already developing and using AI to monitor and detect inconsistencies that suggest a complex attack.

What next?

Currently, Neer is focusing on developing Cydome as a leading cybersecurity provider in the maritime sector. To do this, the company’s vision will continue to focus on the security of the entire supply chain, including the protection of fleet, port and offshore facilities. The entire marine ecosystem is at risk if these parts do not have proper, ongoing defenses against cyber criminals. Cydome will continue to champion this integral offer for the benefit of the entire supply chain and economy.

Speaking of experience

Nir advises emerging entrepreneurs to do extensive research to become entrepreneurs in cyber security. He said “Understand and verify the problem and get to know your users. And most importantly – create a diverse and creative team that complements each other. Plan to create a real and significant problem solution and devise a strategy to be the best provider of that service.