MTISC-GOG investigation finds no evidence of breach

There’s a follow-up to a post concerning a possible data breach involving Maritime Trade Information Sharing Centre, Gulf of Guinea (MTISC-GOG). A statement from BIMCO had suggested that there had been a breach that could put ships at greater risk of attacks by pirates.

DataBreaches received the following statement from LT(GN) Felix Tsekpetse, Officer in Charge of MTISC-GOG:

Thank you very much for the enquiry. We are aware of the ISPS statement issued by the Danish Authorities and note that it is currently an unsubstantiated allegation, albeit from a national authority. We are in touch with the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are seeking further details. Nevertheless, MTISC-GoG has conducted a thorough investigation and reviewed its security procedures and protocols; this review has concluded that their scope is adequate and adherence absolute. We are seeking any substantive information from the Danish authorities.

In response to the central allegation that ‘security related information’
being ‘leaked to individuals outside of MTISC-GoG’, please note that MTISC-GoG does not handle commercial or voyage sensitive information, nor any ship or cargo information. Any information shared is only shared with the specific national authority (Maritime and Naval) when MTISC-GoG supports an incident in their territorial waters and more general information warning broadcast to all shipping. As such, there is no information that can be used to facilitate attacks.

Our security procedures are based on those used by the military and our
personnel are seconded from regional Navies and the shipping industry. All
personnel are subject to a thorough screening and subject to a confidentiality
agreement which is a standard MTSIC-GoG requirement.

So they’re saying that they’ve found no evidence of a leak, and in any event, they don’t have the types of information that could be used by pirates to select or attack targets. Under those circumstances, it’s hard to know what to make of BIMCO’s warning, and for now, I’d consider this one unconfirmed unless further information becomes available.