Maritime cybersecurity in Africa: what is at stake for the continent’s ports?

For a long time, port security in Africa was thought of mainly in physical terms: access control, video surveillance, compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which came into force in 2004 under the aegis of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This dimension remains central, but it is no longer enough. As the continent’s ports adopt terminal operating systems (TOS), port single windows, EDI data-exchange platforms or connected sensors on their handling equipment, they also inherit the vulnerabilities of any interconnected digital system.

A structurally exposed sector

A modern port is not an isolated system: it connects customs, carriers, freight forwarders, banks and shipowners around a single flow of information. This interconnection, which gives the port single window its value, is also what multiplies the potential entry points for an IT security incident. A compromised terminal operating system (TOS), an unavailable container-tracking database or a paralysed port billing system can bring operations to a standstill well beyond the strict IT perimeter, with direct consequences for clearance times, vessel turnaround and the confidence of international shippers.

The global maritime sector has taken the measure of this risk: in 2017 the IMO introduced guidelines on maritime cyber risk management, since integrated into the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. For African port authorities, the challenge is therefore no longer just to go digital, but to do so according to recognised security standards from the design stage, rather than adding cybersecurity afterwards, once an incident has occurred.

Existing frameworks, still unevenly adopted

There is no shortage of normative tools. The ISO/IEC 27001 standard governs the implementation of an information security management system, applicable to any port organisation wishing to structure its cyber governance rather than piling up one-off measures. ISO 28000, specific to supply chains, complements this approach on the logistics security side. Data-exchange standards such as EDI/UN-EDIFACT, when properly implemented, also reduce the risk surface by avoiding the proliferation of unsecured communication channels (email, shared files) for sensitive commercial information.

The difficulty for many medium-sized African ports is therefore not the absence of frameworks, but the ability to implement them with often limited human and budgetary resources. An initial security audit, a policy of individual passwords, two-factor authentication on critical systems or a documented business continuity plan are accessible first steps, well before considering full certification.

Cybersecurity, a matter of regional cooperation

Because port supply chains are regional by nature, with the same ship and the same cargo transiting through several ports of the continent, African maritime cybersecurity benefits from being thought of collectively. Sharing good practices between port authorities, pooling scarce skills (security analysts, certified auditors) and gradually aligning on common standards are all levers to ensure that no port becomes, by default, the weak link in the regional chain. This is precisely the kind of peer exchange (technicians, port directors, security experts) that sector gatherings such as the African Ports Conference (COPAF) seek to organise, by bringing the continent’s port authorities together around these shared challenges.

From 19 to 21 October 2026 in Casablanca. More information and registration at copaf-ports.com/inscription.