Theme: Resilience
Industry Adoption: ⚫ ⚫ ⚫ ⚪ Fully Integrated
Impact: ⚫ ⚫ ⚪ Significant

A 2024 Maersk survey shows that decision makers rank Cyber Security 6th out of the top 15 trends.

Cyber security is critical for logistics, as rising digitalisation exposes the industry to growing cyber threats. Security gaps can cause financial damage, with data leaks resulting in losses averaging millions of dollars. During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the maritime sector experienced a 400% spike in cyber-attacks, illustrating the need for robust defences. High-profile incidents, such as the ransomware attack on Japan’s Port of Nagoya in 2023, which disrupted 10% of the country’s trade, underscore the risks to logistical operational continuity.

^{Average values of the top ten trends: Startups: 57; Patents 9,327 (thereof 316 groundbreaking); Science Publications: 6,141; C-Suite Mentions 1,376; More C-Suite mentions typically signal that trends are in the early or early adopter stage, while fewer indicate movement towards full integration or the industry standard.}

Between 2019 and 2023, about 5,000 patents were filed, though only a small share is groundbreaking, reflecting its maturity in terms of adoption, in conjunction with the need for continuous development to counteract fast evolving threats. Only five startups have entered the space since 2015. C-Suite mentions have declined from 150 in 2022 to 90 in 2024, suggesting that cyber security is no longer seen as an innovation but rather as business hygiene. There are around 500 academic publications, adding moderate insights to the field.

Top 15 Trends

Share of Key Decision Makers, who consider the trend to be relevant for their company’s logistics

Cyber Security – Relevance by Industry

What are the opportunities?

Proactive cyber security strengthens logistics resilience, reduces ransomware risks, and ensures data integrity. Internet of Things integration enables better monitoring of unauthorised access to containers and real-time tracking of cargo, while multi-layered defences protect high-value shipments and build customer trust.

What are the challenges?

High implementation costs and complex compliance burden smaller companies. Reliance on third-party cloud providers and weak supplier measures increase vulnerabilities, risking breaches across logistics networks. Another key challenge in cyber security is the rapid advancement of technology, which is also being leveraged by attackers. Tools like AI are now used to create deepfakes and carry out more sophisticated and efficient cyber attacks, making it increasingly difficult for organisations to keep up.

Sources:

• The World Bank (2021).
• World Economic Forum (2024).
• Survey among 500+ global logistics decision makers across various industries, conducted by Statista for Maersk (Q4 2024).
• In-depth interviews with global industry experts, academia, and futurists.
• Unstructured web sources with more than 10,000 search term permutations using AI.
• Curated data from startup databases, patent databases, and analysis tools, as well as Semantic Scholar.