Netox was responsible for building the new data network used by the Port of Helsinki’s employees. Netox monitors the Port of Helsinki’s cyber security around the clock every day of the year.

The Port of Helsinki disconnected from the City of Helsinki’s shared network in March 2023. The final service scope was specified during the deployment, and the normal production was reached in two weeks also for non-critical systems.

The port’s virtual servers were moved to Netox’s data centers in Finland.

“Our office network had been part of the City of Helsinki’s Helnet network. Decisions related to the management, maintenance and cyber security were made as part of the decision-making process of the city organization,” says Esa Salonen, IT Manager at the Port of Helsinki.

“At the core of the reform are scalability, cybersecurity, fault tolerance and more flexible company-specific decision-making. At the same time, we achieved a clear situational picture and responsibilities through the development of service procurement management,” says Salonen.

The Port of Helsinki is a company wholly owned by the City of Helsinki and employs approximately 100 people.

The cooperation between the Port of Helsinki and Netox has deepened into a versatile combination of IT equipment, cyber security, and personnel support and training services.

“We are responsible for the end-user services of the Port of Helsinki’s employees. In addition, we provide training for personnel in areas such as M365 environment solutions and information security. We are also responsible for all kinds of matters related to information systems, technology, and cyber threats,” says Netox’s Service Manager Seppo Niemelä, who is responsible for Port of Helsinki’s services.

Netox monitors the Port of Helsinki’s cyber security around the clock every day of the year.

Netox provides us with SOC services, which we previously lacked. This gives us a better view of what is happening in our networks and allows us to better make decisions affecting network infrastructure and IT procurement

Esa Salonen

“We have control rooms in Helsinki and Oulu. Our expert is solving a potential cybersecurity-related incident within 15 minutes,” Niemelä says.

Up-to-date documentation

Netox ensured that the documentation of the new network is of high quality and will be updated in the future whenever reforms are made.

“Once again, it was shown how important high-quality and up-to-date documentation is. When the documentation is at a good level, network renewal speeds up considerably and it is also easier to predict the costs of reforms,” Niemelä says.

“Human-sized service company is a word I have heard several times during our cooperation. It is a message of success, the quality of our service and the fact that combining IT equipment purchases and cyber security services and acquiring the package from Netox genuinely brings added value to the customer,” Niemelä rejoices.

Ports safeguard Finland’s operational capability

The 2023 National Risk Assessment estimates that cyberattacks targeting ports and maritime transport will cause significant harm to the functioning of society in the worst-case scenarios.

According to the national risk assessment, serious disruptions in maritime transport would cause fuel supply problems, which in turn would be reflected in transport fuel distribution and other road transports.

This, in turn, would have a direct impact on pharmaceutical services and health care and medical care, as well as food and grocery trade.

Disruptions would weaken the functional capacity of the population and society.

Serious disruptions to maritime transport would also have a broad impact on the availability of industrial spare parts and components and on the operating conditions of industry.

In a report published in February 2021, the National Cyber Security Centre Finland estimated that as cyber warfare intensifies, attacks on critical civilian infrastructure, such as ports and water utilities, are on the increase.