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CyMetrics Helps Trucking Companies Close the Gap for Cyber-Risk

Chief Technology Officer William Elkins of CyMetrics
William Elkins, chief technology officer at the business risk solutions company HudsonAnalytix, emphasized the importance of cybersecurity to the trucking industry. (Eleanor Lamb/Transport Topics)

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CLEVELAND — Trucking company leaders interested in identifying cyber-risks may turn to CyMetrics as a resource.

William Elkins, chief technology officer at the business risk solutions company HudsonAnalytix, delivered a presentation on the service Sept. 12 at American Trucking Associations’ 2021 Technology & Maintenance Council Fall Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition.

Designed to help trucking companies improve cybersecurity resilience, CyMetrics offers cyber-risk management solutions to commercial transportation groups.



The service allows firms to assess their cybersecurity preparedness and provides prioritized recommendations that are written “in English” rather than in heavy technical jargon, according to Elkins. Fleet executives and IT operators can determine risk management practices and controls that need to be taken to achieve a better state of cybersecurity preparedness. Also, users can benchmark themselves against their industry peers.

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“The objective here is to close the gap for cyber-risk because it’s important to the trucking industry,” Elkins said during the session.

Frameworks from agencies such the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology form the basis of CyMetrics’ model.

CyMetrics was created through a partnership between HudsonCyber and Fleet CyWatch. A subsidiary of HudsonAnalytix, HudsonCyber provides cyber-risk management services and supports clients in the commercial shipping, ports and maritime transportation industries. A program supported by TMC and ATA’s Transportation Security Council, Fleet CyWatch assists fleet members in reporting information about trucking-related internet crimes and shares information about threats.

The service is geared toward trucking companies of various sizes. TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell said the service has about 3,000 subscribers.

“We believe that a management team should work together to understand how their company is exposed to cyber-risk,” Elkins said. “The management team is faced with the responsibility for addressing cyber-risk, but oftentimes doesn’t have a deep IT knowledge and they need to understand why they should take these actions. It’s a business decision.”

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