Cyber Security Awareness for Yacht Crew & Staff

Increasing the Knowledge of Personal Cyber Security-Related Threats for Yacht Crew & Staff, Including Potential Social Media Breaches, Hacking and ID Theft

An awareness of cyber security-related threats amongst the crew and staff of Superyachts is generally quite poor. This can lead to breaches of security, and open the yacht, personnel, guests and owners to potential cyber security attacks, as well as stealing and misuse of personal data. By providing the crew and staff with an awareness of these threats, especially those connected with social media hacking and ID theft, this will lead to increased security for the company, yacht and personnel involved.

About the Course

The ‘Cyber Security Awareness for Yacht Crew & Staff‘ course provides an overview of the cyber threats that exist, risk management, and cyber security compliance for Yachts. The course also looks at issues for crew & staff with social media, then examines the measures that can be taken to mitigate and defend against these types of threats. This course is designed to provide the user an awareness of Maritime Cyber Security issues because ‘cyber security is everyone’s responsibility.’

The Course Aim

The aim of this course, designed by VIRSEC is to provide the crew and staff of a Yacht with the basic knowledge enabling them to secure their personal devices, safeguard personal data, as well as considering on board equipment that may be vulnerable to cyber security threats. The course also introduces measures within the shipboard Safety Management System (SMS) to ensure that the Yacht is resilient to cyber risks.

Course Subjects

The course includes the following subjects:

Course Introduction Area
Cyber Risk Management
The Foundation for IMO 2021
MSC.428(98) Cyber Security Compliance for Superyachts
Compliance Requirements for IMO 2021
Crew Training & Awareness Requirements
Maintaining a Safe & Secure Social Media Environment
Geographical Security for High-Value Assets with a Focus on Cyber Security

Target Audience

This course is aimed at all crew and staff personnel of Superyachts, Motor Yachts & Mega Yachts who access personal social media, websites, and other vulnerable applications through shipboard and personal devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktops. The course is also ideal for guests and owners to appreciate the risks involved, and how to assist in the mitigation of those risks through personal cyber security measures whilst on board the Yacht.

Course Certificate

Upon successful completion of the course and any associated assessment, learners will be able to download and save their certificate provided in PDF format.

Course Duration

The course lasts for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours depending on the learner’s abilities and reading speed. However, you can enter and exit this course as often as you require but you must complete each assessment in one sitting as they will reset if you exit during an assessment phase.

Prerequisites

There are no pre-requisites for attending this online course.

Bulk Purchases

Be sure to book your online Cyber Security Awareness for Superyacht Crew & Staff Course here at VIRSEC. Whether you are looking to discuss pricing associated with bulk purchasing our Cyber Security Awareness for Superyacht Crew & Staff Course, or you would like to learn more about our Yacht Sector Courses, please contact us at training@virsec.org. You can also call us on +44 (0)161 763 4427 and ask for Olivia or Cathy who will happily assist you.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Can you take the course online or offline?

We provide you with the option to complete the course entirely online, as expected. Or via an offline capability accessible through an app, via Google Play or the Apple App Store. You can download the course to the app and study even while at sea or in areas with poor internet connectivity. Once you return to land or a location with good signal quality, you can upload the course to the system and synchronise it with your user area on the LMS [https://virseclms.org]. For further information on accessing the course(s) offline, please reach out to us at training@virsec.org.

How long do I have to complete my online course?

All our courses have a six (6) month access licence applied to them. This licence commences the day the course is purchased, and not from the day you first access the course. You may however enter and exit the course as often as you like until both the course and assessment(s) are completed.

Do I need to take notes on the course?

No, VIRSEC provides you with a comprehensive set of Course Notes that you can download during the course. You can also use these notes to research any answers when taking the Course Assessment.

Can I take breaks, or do I need to complete the course in one sitting?

You can take a break from the course at any time of your choosing. We also recommend that you have regular breaks and often build reminders into our courses. It is strongly recommended that if you are going to take a significant break, you should log out to prevent the system closing and not saving your progress. If you log out correctly, the system will remember your progress so you may continue from that point when you log back in.

Is there an Assessment after the course?

On the Course we have an Assessment on completion of the related Learning Outcomes. You must achieve a minimum score of 70% to enable you to pass the course. The Assessment consist of randomly selected multiple-choice questions and true or false response questions drawn from question banks. Additional details on assessments are available in the FAQs section of this page. It is an ‘open book’ based assessment, and you are allowed to use any notes made, or the official course notes downloads available to you during the assessment to research the correct answers.

Can I use my notes during an Official Assessment?

This is an ‘open book’ type assessment, and it is permissible to use any notes made, or the official course notes downloads available to you during the assessment to research the correct response or responses.

Do I need to submit any documentation?

No, you are not required to submit any documentation.

Do I need to attend a Test Centre to take my assessment?

No, the course is 100% online including the assessment part.

Do I need an Invigilator when taking my Course Assessment?

No, there is no requirement for an invigilator.

What happens if I fail the Assessment?

If you fail the Assessment, you may retake it again straight away, or whenever you wish within the 6-month licence applicable to your course [licences commence the day the course is purchased, not the date they are accessed].

How do I receive my certificate when I pass?

When you complete the course correctly and pass the Course Assessment you will be able to open and save the Course certificate from your Learner Portal in the Certificates area of the dashboard

Is VIRSEC open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for Support?

You are able to purchase courses and take them 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, as we are an online company, with access to both our e-Commerce website and Learning Management System [LMS]. However, the company is open during the hours listed on its website [0900 to 1700 hrs GMT/BST Monday to Thursday, 0900 to 1500 hrs Friday, Closed Saturday & Sunday and Bank Holidays]. Limited out of hours support is available for minor issues. However, major support issue requests may be made, but will be managed during these listed office hours when the technical team are available.

Is there an Online Chat Facility for Support Requests?

VIRSEC do have a Chat Facility on their website, and you may make a request for support. However, this is only manned during the hours listed on its website [0900 to 1700 hrs GMT/BST Monday to Thursday, 0900 to 1500 hrs Friday, Closed Saturday & Sunday and Bank Holidays]. Responses to comments or enquiries may take up to 24 hours, or until the next working day as detailed.