Cybersecurity for Trucking and Logistics Companies

Tuesday, 6 a.m., at a 45-truck carrier in Mississauga. The dispatcher gets a last-minute email from a regular customer: the load of auto parts must go to "our new warehouse" in Brampton. The address looks plausible, so does the signature. The driver delivers.

The next day, the real customer calls to ask where its freight is. The email came from a domain almost identical to theirs. Nobody hacked a truck; one well-timed message was enough.

Trucking and logistics stack up weak points: connected platforms, money and freight that move on the strength of an email, and constant pressure on delivery times. Here's where the risks are, and what to tackle first.

Why transportation is a prime target

Transportation attracts cybercriminals because every hour of downtime is expensive and decisions are made fast, often on a single email. According to the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security's National Cyber Threat Assessment 2025-2026, ransomware incidents observed by the Cyber Centre in Canada's transportation sector rose 122% between 2022 and 2023. The same assessment calls ransomware the top cybercrime threat facing Canada's critical infrastructure.

A small carrier adds risk factors of its own: many intermediaries (shippers, freight brokers, subcontractors, warehouses), mobile staff working from their phones, and systems wired into one another. Stolen access in one place often opens doors elsewhere.

Telematics, GPS and ELDs: protect these accounts like your bank

A fleet telematics account shows the real-time location of your trucks and loads; in the wrong hands, it's a treasure map for cargo thieves. Depending on the platform, it also gives access to driver history, settings and sometimes commands sent to vehicles.

Electronic logging devices (ELDs) add another layer. According to Transport Canada, enforcement of the rules requiring certified ELDs for federally regulated truck and bus carriers began in January 2023, and the devices must be certified by a third-party body. That certification is about compliance with hours-of-service rules; it doesn't secure your dispatchers' logins.

The most common weaknesses:

• one login shared by the whole dispatch team;
• no multi-factor authentication on the fleet portal;
• former employees and former subcontractors still active;
• integrations with the transportation management system (TMS) whose keys nobody tracks;
• fleet apps installed on drivers' personal phones.

These platforms also collect personal information. In Quebec, Law 25 requires you to inform people in advance when you collect their information with a technology that can locate or profile them, including to analyze work performance (s. 8.1). Driver scoring falls into that category. Have your legal advisor review your notice to drivers.

Email fraud at dispatch and in accounts payable

Most fraud aimed at carriers runs through email and load boards, not through hacked trucks. In a July 2026 Insurance Business article, investigators from Équité Association describe thefts in which a fraudster poses as an established carrier to win a load, then redirects it: the thief never touches the truck.

The last three scenarios are vendor banking change fraud, which hits every industry. The defence fits in one rule: no payment and no address change without a phone confirmation at a number you already have.

Fuel cards: small amounts that add up

Fuel card fraud almost always combines a card number and a PIN obtained through theft, skimming at the pump or phishing on the provider's portal. Each transaction looks routine; the total is what hurts.

The effective measures are simple:

• one PIN per driver rather than per truck, never written in the cab;
• limits per transaction, per day and per product type;
• provider alerts turned on, and actually read;
• purchases matched against the truck's mileage and GPS position;
• multi-factor authentication on the card management portal;
• the card cancelled the day a driver leaves.

Warehouses: when operational technology stops, so do the docks

In a modern warehouse, the warehouse management system, barcode scanners, dock doors, conveyors and refrigeration all depend on the network; ransomware that reaches it can shut down the docks. That's operational technology, with the same issues as a plant floor.

Separate the warehouse network from the office network, control remote access by integrators and refrigeration contractors, change default passwords on equipment, and keep a paper procedure for bills of lading and pick lists. Our article on manufacturing and OT cybersecurity explains segmentation in more detail.

If a load or a payment has already gone astray

When freight or money has been diverted, the first few hours decide what can be recovered. In order:

1. If money left your account, call your bank right away and ask it to recall or freeze the transfer.
2. If a load was misdirected, alert the shipper, your insurer and the police with the truck, trailer and delivery details.
3. Secure the compromised mailbox or account: new password, sessions ended, forwarding rules removed, multi-factor authentication on.
4. Keep the fraudulent emails and their headers, and report the fraud to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
5. Warn your customers and subcontractors if the fraudster used your name, so they don't fall for the next message.

The carrier's checklist

Our team uses this list as a starting point with transportation companies:

• Multi-factor authentication on email, the TMS, telematics, the fuel card portal, banking and load boards. See our guide to choosing the right method.
• A named account for each dispatcher; no more shared passwords.
• A quarterly access review, including former employees, subcontractors and integrations.
• A call-back procedure for any change of delivery address or banking details.
• DMARC set up on your email domain.
• Limits and alerts on fuel cards.
• A warehouse network separated from the office network.
• Offline backups of the TMS and accounting, plus a paper procedure for dispatch.
• A written notice to drivers about tracking and how their data is used.

Our team can review your accounts, payment procedures and warehouse network as part of a cybersecurity audit. One of our experts can also visit you on site, right at your terminal.