Today’s commercial trucks are rolling internet connections, creating new attack vectors that only grow with digital transformation. However, without strict authentication, encryption, and access controls, hackers armed with AI are increasingly targeting the sector.
I agree with the National Motor Freight Traffic Association – trucks move upwards of 70% of the nation’s freight and the sector must better understand cyber threats and how to guard against them. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case at the moment, with a single data breach in transport costing an average of $4M and 60% of small businesses closing within six months of an attack.
One of the most effective defenses? Thinking like the hackers themselves. By understanding how cybercriminals target connected fleets, warehouse systems, and logistics networks, leaders can stay one step ahead and build truly resilient operations.
Commercial carriers are leaving backdoors wide open
Trucking companies understandably want to boost efficiency and keep up with the post-pandemic pace of digitization. Despite most fleet executives hoping to simplify their networks, they’re simultaneously under pressure to adopt AI, autonomous systems, and cloud infrastructure, all of which expand their attack surface. Bad actors are exploiting this tension between operations and cybersecurity.
Unpatched backdoors, weak authentication, and human error can quickly lead to data breaches, ransomware attacks, and supply chain disruptions. We recently spoke to 1000 IT professionals across various sectors in the supply chain and found that one-third had fallen victim to cyberattacks in the past 12 months. Most (62%) of these attacks were classified as serious with ransomware particularly widespread.
Trucking breaches can quickly spiral into a matter of business survival. One of the UK’s leading privately owned logistics and freight forwarding companies recently declared insolvency after a ransomware attack compromised key systems and financial information. The attack ultimately led to bankruptcy and team-wide layoffs. In this context, our findings that one-third of organizations lack strict endpoint policies, and one-quarter take between one and three months to detect security breaches, show that leaders need to step up and treat this threat like their business depends on it – because it does.
Smarter teams make smarter decisions
From the top down, companies need to be smarter about security. Remember: bad actors with free or cheap generative tools are enjoying a productivity breakthrough to attack at scale. Fleet leaders need to respond by protecting their assets as best as possible.
This starts with the human element. Team members are more often targeted in sophisticated social engineering aimed at stealing identities and compromising devices. In fact, phishing emails are one of the most common entry points for logistics attacks.
Here, if leaders think like hackers, they would identify the vector, redouble education efforts, and strengthen network front lines. Tailored teaching sessions are a good way to reshape company culture and educate employees to say something if they see something.
The goal is to make each and every employee part of the “human firewall” – a real-time, resilient frontline defense that reports threats as they happen. This goes a long way to nipping threats in the bud and keeping operations up and running.
Take the target off your back with better cyber hygiene
Building the human firewall is essential but only one layer. Fleet leaders must also focus on general cyber hygiene since hackers usually target low-hanging security fruit. Therefore, addressing foundational gaps makes a big difference.
Begin with patching since 40% of organizations in our research still aren’t regularly updating systems – a problem when 60% of breach victims are compromised due to a known yet unpatched vulnerability. A unified endpoint management (UEM) platform is beneficial here since admins can connect to a single dashboard and automate updates during off-peak hours.
Likewise, with employees in hacker crosshairs, protect them with better authentication. Set strict password policies, enforce multi-factor authentication, and implement extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities that monitor your fleet in real-time. With only 35% of logistics companies adhering to basic password policies, and 6% lacking policies altogether, getting this right can create a lasting impact.
Lastly, trucking must become a better information custodian. Encrypting data – regardless of whether it’s in storage or transit – gives hackers another hurdle to clear and signals that companies take their data responsibilities seriously.
Cybersecurity in this sector is about creating a more secure whole. Thanks to the interconnected nature of supply chains, a single breach can create cascading vulnerabilities. By thinking like our adversaries and treating every endpoint as a potential entry point, we can work backward and defend accordingly.
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