Transport managers need to stop being complacent and recognise that a cyber attack poses a triple threat, which can affect both the business and their own finances, fleet transport risk consultant and insurance broker McCarron Coates warned this week.
The company points to an increasingly sophisticated approach to cyber crime, assisted by AI tools, which has increased the vulnerability of transport companies.
It warns that transport operators are already attractive targets for cyber criminals, due to operating at the centre of the national supply chain.
This places many of them within a network of interconnected digital systems that can offer access to both their own data and that of customers.
Add to this the lack of attention paid to cyber security by many transport operators making them easy targets, the company added.
McCarron Coates points to the sector’s lack of appreciation of the threat, evidenced by research from the ONS, which shows only 3.9% of transport and storage companies surveyed in September 2025 said they were concerned about a cyber attack occurring in the next 12 months.
This contrasts with 15.1% of companies in the manufacturing sector and 11.7% of those in retail.
Only 26% of transport and storage companies have board members responsible for cyber security. Even then, many of these directors are not experts in cyber security or necessarily devoting much resource to cyber resilience, McCarron Coates noted.
Within this context, McCarron Coates lists the three major reasons why transport operators should be worried about cyber crime, which it describes as the triple cyber threat.
Threat one is paralysis of their systems, if a cyber attack is successful. The big appeal for cyber criminals is ‘ransomware as a service’, which operates by them carrying out data theft and system encryption and then demanding significant ransom payments.
This action can immobilise a business heavily reliant on digital systems and real-time data, effectively putting the brakes on the entire fleet.
McCarron Coates explained: “This situation occurred during the demise of Knights of Old, where cyber criminals infiltrated the company’s network thanks to a weak password. It is estimated the ransom demanded was £5m.
“The company never recovered, despite having cyber insurance, and has since warned that the most damaging thing was the reputational damage. Incurring that can soon erode customer trust.”
Threat two is an increasing risk due to the nature of cyber crime. This is where the cyber criminals are already part of an organised gang carrying out physical cargo thefts, or where they sell on data they are harvesting from an operator’s systems, having infiltrated and gained access. Here, they can view schedules, loads, routes, and even real-time locations of cargoes through GPS tracking, and instigate a physical attack on the cargo.
Threat three, however, is to the person in charge of cyber security, with McCarron Coates warning that, if measures to try to prevent cyber attacks have not been instigated in a professional and thorough manner, it could potentially be viewed as negligence, resulting in demands for compensation from those impacted, directly from the personal funds of the decision-maker who did not act.
“The claims could be from customers, shareholders, suppliers or anyone whose personal data is exposed. This could include employees on the payroll system,” the company said.
Ian McCarron, McCarron Coates director, said: “The triple threat can completely immobilise a business, lead to loss of trust and customer accounts, and result in personal losses by director and managers who did not act on the cyber risk.
Fellow director, Paul Coates, added: “If you consider the pivotal role transport operators play in the supply chain, it is easy to understand that cyber criminals know that ransom demands can result in a big pay day.
“If they do not succeed in getting their ransom money, they have other ways to make business, by selling on data and intelligence. Transport is a hugely attractive sector for cyber criminals but operators are often lethargic in their approach to cyber security, failing to act on the cyber threat.”
The broker is urging transport operators to make cyber security a top priority, starting with a full cyber risk review and the creation of a cyber business continuity plan, which would be put into place the moment an issue became apparent.
It also requires the business to implement measures across the operation and engage in meaningful employee training in cyber crime strategies, password protection and use of multi-factor authentication, using standards such as ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials Plus.
The company added: “If not taking this step, businesses should definitely put controls in place to limit employee access to systems and ensure they patch all system vulnerabilities, identified after regular audits and reviews.
“With expert help, they should work to construct systems in such a way that parts can be isolated, should an issue hit one area. Procedures such as testing staff in mock cyber attacks, and having regular encrypted data back-ups, are recommended.
Ian McCarron said: “Cyber insurance is a key requirement for transport operators, but McCarron Coates will always stress that it is just one part of the strategy needed to ensure business continuity.
“The whole cyber risk management piece is crucial and that is where we can really make a difference through our deep-dive Risk Management 2.0 approach to clients’ risks.”
The broker also stresses that having the right Directors & Officers or management liability insurance in place, to safeguard personal livelihoods in the event of a cyber attack, is something often overlooked.
“A cyber attack could be devastating to not just the operation but to the personal finances of those in control, if there is a failure to take the cyber risk seriously,” the company warned.
