Recruiting Cyber Officers For The Inland Waterways

A panel at the fast-approaching Inland Marine Expo will be dedicated to explaining and exploring the Coast Guard’s final rule on cybersecurity procedures for the inland waterways, which takes effect July 16. Although the new rule strives for flexibility, focusing on performance and security targets rather than requiring specific technologies, it does include penalties, potential legal action for non-compliance and financial losses. These can be onerous, although losses from an actual cybersecurity breach could be worse.

Among other things, the new rule requires cybersecurity training beginning July 17 for all of those who use information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems. Nowadays, that might well include everyone at a company, especially smaller outfits. Cybersecurity should become the air that everyone breathes.

Nevertheless, companies may have to designate cybersecurity officers tasked maintaining and updating security systems. That role may fall to IT managers, but as the threat environment gets more crowded, some companies may find it necessary to have full-time cybersecurity officers. The IMX panel will discuss how a a “CySO” will fit into company culture.

All this gives rise to an interesting recruiting question. There’s an ongoing debate in our society about the various paths to a rewarding work life, one of which is certainly a career on the inland waterways. Tech devices and cybersecurity concerns are now so pervasive that certain cyber skills have to be part of everyone’s life and almost all occupations. They’re not just for “techies” anymore. They are part of the suite of skills that ambitious deckhands looking to rise to the wheelhouse will need, as well as the more traditional towboat skills.