Port Tampa Bay plans to use a USD1.6 million federal grant to combat cyber threats and bolster security.
The money is part of USD100 million allocated on 28 July by the US Federal Emergency Management Agency under its Port Security Grant Program (PSGP).
PSGP grants are used to increase port-wide risk management, enhance domain awareness, conduct training and exercises, and to prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
“It is our intent to utilise this generous funding to its highest and best uses, and therefore provide the most up-to-date safety and security methods and training that are available to a port of our size, with major importance to West and Central Florida,” commented Port Tampa Bay CEO Paul Anderson.
The port contends that, unlike most ports in the state, it has “many access points spread out by great distances” that require more controlled access and remote monitoring.
In addition to improving its ability to mitigate cyber threats, the port intends to use the grant to add radar camera equipment to extend port monitoring coverage. It also plans to upgrade software for its portable identification biometric readers that are used to verify Transportation Worker Identification Credential (‘TWIC’) cards.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
