Maritime cyber research wins 2021 Lloyd’s Science of Risk prize

An academic from the University of Plymouth (@PlymUni) has won a prestigious international accolade for her research underpinning a suite of software tools designed to enhance maritime cyber security.

Dr Kimberly Tam, Lecturer in Cyber Security, won the overall prize – and the dedicated cyber category – in the 2021 Lloyd’s Science of Risk prize.

The prize is awarded to academics and PhD students who, through their scientific work, further the understanding of risk and insurance.

Dr Tam’s award was in recognition of her work on the Maritime Cyber Risk Assessment (MaCRA) framework, which she developed in conjunction with the University’s Maritime Cyber Threats Research Group.

The principles behind the MaCRA framework were first set out in a study published in the WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs in 2019, and co-authored by Dr Tam and Executive Dean of Science and Engineering, Professor Kevin Jones.

The paper proposed a dynamic risk assessment model that uniquely takes into account both information technology and operational technology, both of which are prevalent in sectors like transportation and critical national infrastructure.

The University was then awarded a grant from the Maritime Research and Innovation UK (MarRI-UK) initiative to develop it as an industry-ready solution that ensures crucial cargo keeps reaching the UK’s shores.

It is the second award the software has won in just over a week after it triumphed in a Cyber Den competition run as part of the UK government’s flagship cyber security event, CYBERUK.