NMFTA Tackles Cyber-Enabled Cargo Thefts With New Framework
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The National Motor Freight Traffic Association has released a framework aimed at helping carriers and brokers fight back against the growing and increasingly sophisticated problem of digitally enabled cargo theft.
Launched June 26, the group’s Cybersecurity Cargo Crime Reduction Framework is designed as an actionable guide for carriers, shippers and third-party logistics providers. It outlines steps to reduce cargo theft risk, with an overall focus on spotting red flags, layered security and collaboration.
The group stressed that creating the framework was a collaborative effort with industry.
“We dealt with a lot of people — whether they were previous contacts, law enforcement, friends — that have been around the industry and understand what the problem is,” said Artie Crawford, director of cybersecurity at NMFTA. “We solicited a lot of background information just so we could wrap our head around the problem.”
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Central to the NMFTA framework are best practices for recognizing red flags, such as fake carrier profiles or spoofed dispatch communications. It also covers implementation of layered defenses across telematics, authentication and personnel training. The final broad piece is the importance of collaboration with trusted partners to track threats and report incidents.
Crawford noted that it’s not just about adopting best practices; it’s about how they work together.
“In the framework, we talk about something called convergence,” he said. “We talk about the convergence between cybersecurity, operational security and physical security. Each one of those, by itself, won’t solve the problem. For instance — and I’ll just take the most obvious one — we can have the best gates, guards and guns in physical security. We’re still going to lose loads because we didn’t take advantage of the other two.”
Cargo theft has attracted increased attention in recent years as criminal techniques have grown in sophistication, including on Capitol Hill. was among transportation and logistics sector representatives advocating during an April congressional hearing for advancement of the bipartisan . The legislation is designed to respond to long-standing cargo theft concerns.
“Directly or indirectly, virtually all trucking companies are victims of cargo theft. Either they are victims of crime, or they are spending so much money to defend against being targeted that they are still victims,” ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said.
CEO Anne Reinke added, “It’s getting those perpetrators off the streets so they don’t do the crimes over and over again. We all have a role to play in terms of information sharing, data gathering, and so our members are investing in it.”
Verisk CargoNet data shows that cargo theft activity increased 27% year over year to 3,625 reported incidents in 2024, totaling an estimated $455 million in losses for the year. The company has teamed with asset monitoring provider GearTrack to provide theft and fraud risk management tools and analytics. Plus, load board and fleet management specialist Truckstop is deploying tools and reports to help customers combat the threat.
Intermodal Association of North America CEO Anne Reinkestressed the importance of information sharing and data gathering regarding the ability of IANA's members to fight cargo theft. (Intermodal Association of North Americavia YouTube)
NMFTA aims to contribute to solving the problem by providing unique insights through a cybersecurity lens.
“Cargo theft is no longer confined to stolen trailers or broken seals,” said Joe Ohr, chief operating officer for NMFTA. “Criminals are increasingly using cyber tactics to impersonate drivers, falsify load documents, exploit digital load boards and reroute shipments. These tech-driven schemes are harder to detect — and far more costly.”
Crawford noted that law enforcement can be selective in what cases they pursue more aggressively than others. He pointed out that items like prescription drugs or ammunition would take priority over something more everyday, such as a shipment of bacon.
Crawford said NMFTA began work on the framework after realizing how the rise in strategic cargo thefts overlapped with its existing cybersecurity efforts.
“We started looking at it and said, ‘Whoa, hold on,’” he said. “There are some things here that are really similar to these core controls that we were putting out for the fleets. And interestingly enough, when we started to dig into this framework — minus the complexities and all of those kind of nuance things that are outside of cybersecurity — we started to see the generalities, and that improving your cybersecurity posture also helps you reduce cargo theft.”
Going forward, NMFTA is exploring the creation of working groups and communication sessions to advance security efforts. It’s also considering starting a third-party vendor checklist.
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