The “tools of the trade” used by today’s cargo thieves aren’t necessarily limited to hardware such as bolt cutters, crowbars, and various power tools. They might also include computers, an Internet connection, and specialized software. As long as freight carriers use computers and the Internet, they’re vulnerable to getting their networks hacked by cyber criminals.
Cyber crime isn’t limited to merely stealing bank account usernames and passwords. It can target many assets of a business via their stored data. By hacking into your network, they can learn all about your truck routing. This includes detailed information about your shipments for customers, such as the exact goods being shipped, the routing used, as well as the pickup and delivery times and locations. Armed with this kind of information, cargo thieves have many options about how to go about pulling off a cargo heist.
For example, they can intercept your shipments at planned rest stops, or may send their own truck to your customer to pick up a shipment while posing as you. Provided they do their “pickup” before your truck arrives, they’ll be long gone before you or your customer realizes that something is amiss. Access to your data means they are privy to where the trucks in your fleet are at all times. They might even share or sell this information to other theft rings in the vicinity of your trucks.
If your surveillance camera system has exploitable weaknesses, cyber criminals can hack into your system and gain control of the cameras. This allows them to view the activities and trucks in your vehicle yards. One way they might do this is if you fail to change the default username and password of your surveillance camera system. This common oversight allows them to readily log into your system whenever they wish.
Protecting your cargo from this kind of theft begins with using strong passwords and periodically changing them. Never use the same password for multiple accounts, because if they crack one password, they’ll automatically have access to all of your accounts. Keep all of your software up-to-date (including your antivirus and firewall) and encrypt your data. Train your employees to be more security conscious.
If you haven’t done so already, learn all you can about cyber security and make its implementation a priority. Like it or not, that’s the reality of cargo theft prevention today. In addition, make sure you have sufficient cargo insurance coverage. To learn more, don’t hesitate to contact us. We provide commercial truck insurance in the states of Florida, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska.
