How Top Trucking Executives Prioritize Cybersecurity

By Brittany Cotton, Senior Digital PR Specialist, National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA).

By consistently supplying people with necessary goods and services, the trucking industry plays a significant role in Indiana and the rest of the U.S. economy. But, just like other sectors, trucking is susceptible to cyber threats and attacks that could significantly disrupt supply chains. It’s become a very important issue facing top trucking executives lately, as the ways they prioritize cybersecurity might just make or break their business.

Why is Cybersecurity Important in the Trucking Industry?

Whether located in Indiana or one of the other 50 states, cybersecurity has been a growing issue for the trucking industry for more than ten years. For fleet managers everywhere, the modern, interconnected supply chain poses new difficulties.

Since the pandemic, cyber theft has significantly increased. Ransomware attacks and other cyber threats have increased for transportation companies. Due to its position in the international economy, the trucking industry is highly susceptible to cybercrime.

Phishing remains a key vulnerability for many companies. Cybercriminals still frequently use phishing attacks to steal information, as it’s a tried-and-true method of network penetration. Criminals will frequently send emails with malicious links and attachments, and all it takes is a single click for a problem to arise.

Phishing can also pave the way for more advanced cyberattacks. For instance, many organizations across the globe were targeted by the Petya and NotPetya attacks in 2017, some of which were in the transportation sector.

Things Top Leaders Have Done to Implement Cybersecurity

A number of actions have been taken by top trucking industry leaders to implement cybersecurity measures within their individual organizations. Here are several of the things they do:

• Cyber Insurance: To reduce potential financial losses from cyber threats, many trucking companies have begun to invest in cyber insurance.
• Initiate Regular Cybersecurity Training: To raise awareness of potential threats and best practices for prevention, top leaders have made cybersecurity training for employees a top priority. In order to quickly respond to cyber incidents, they have also established incident response plans.
• Use Network Segmentation: Network segmentation has been implemented by transportation companies to improve security by separating sensitive systems from critical ones.
• Conduct Regular Security Audits: Executives in the trucking industry perform routine security audits to find vulnerabilities and confirm adherence to regulations.
• Implement Incident Response Plans: To quickly respond to cyber incidents, top leaders have established incident response plans. These strategies ensure a prompt and efficient response by outlining the actions to be taken in the event of a cybersecurity breach.
• Initiate Employee Awareness Programs: Top executives have put employee awareness programs in place to teach their staff the best practices for cybersecurity. To keep employees informed about the most recent threats and defenses, these programs include training sessions, workshops, and ongoing communication.
• Collaborate with Industry Peers: To share best practices and stay current on new threats, top leaders work with other trucking companies and industry experts.

The Future of Cybersecurity in Trucking

As technology develops, the future of cybersecurity in the trucking industry appears to be on an upward trend. Several forthcoming developments are on the horizon for companies.

The rise of artificial intelligence and automation are expected to provide much more advanced threat detection capabilities for businesses. It’s likely that we’ll be seeing trucking companies make greater investments in sophisticated threat detection systems like these. Additionally, blockchain technology may be used to improve the security and reliability of data.

Another major trend that we’re likely to see is increased collaboration across industries with regard to cybersecurity. The logic is that increased information sharing and awareness can produce a more effective defense. Along with that is likely to come more investments in employee education because threats constantly evolve. Keeping their workforce informed about new dangers and protective measures will be key.

Regulatory compliance will also be an important issue for trucking companies. The industry is governed by a number of privacy and data protection laws that will be encompassed by cybersecurity measures, and top leaders will need to ensure compliance.

Safeguard the Industry

Due to the growing cyber threats facing the sector, business executives in Indiana's trucking industry must keep up with new cybersecurity trends as technology develops. The upside to this situation is that leaders have an increasing number of resources and best practices that can be deployed to safeguard companies. The more prepared that trucking companies can become, the more prosperous the industry will remain.