ABS Expands Comprehensive Industry-First Cyber System Guidance

ABS CyberSafety™ series now offers actionable guidance and even more integrated standards for system integrity verification.

ABS, a leading provider of classification and technical services to the global marine and offshore industries, unveiled the first comprehensive cybersecurity certification and optional notations for marine and offshore assets and facilities at the SMM (Shipbuilding, Machinery, Marine) bi-annual international maritime trade fair. Introduced in early 2016, the ABS CyberSafety™ series is the industry’s first risk-based management program for asset owners to apply best practice approaches to cybersecurity, automated systems safety, data integrity and software verification.

“Our unique approach to cybersafety charts a new path, delivering wider and deeper classification services as technology evolves and becomes more sophisticated, reaching far beyond simple compliance and directly to asset and facility security,” says ABS Chief Technology Officer Howard Fireman. “The ABS CyberSafety™ program provides the only actionable guidance for addressing and assessing cyber-enabled systems that emphasize human, systems and environmental safety.”

New volume releases and revisions in the ABS CyberSafety™ series include:

1. Volume 1 – Guidance Notes on the Application of Cybersecurity Principles to Marine and Offshore Operations (revised and expanded)

2. Volume 2 – Guide for Cybersecurity Implementation for the Marine and Offshore Industries

3. Volume 3 – Guidance Notes on Data Integrity for Marine and Offshore Operations

4. Volume 4 – Guide for Software Systems Verification

5. Volume 5 – Guidance Notes on Software Provider Conformity Program

From the ABS Guides, optional certification and Classification Notations can be obtained to verify cybersecurity plans and programs for assets and facilities as well as integrated and non-integrated control systems, including factors for software quality management, product design assessment and unit software systems.

“We look beyond the step-by-step approach and deliver an integrated, holistic view of systems, assets and facilities to provide confidence for owners and operators that a multi-dimensional safety component is well-engineered and operated competently,” adds Fireman.

ABS established the ABS CyberSafety™ laboratory earlier this year and staffed it with a team of global cyber experts to expand the safety scope and verify cyber systems that look beyond physical asset safety.