According to a recent research maritime vessels are prone to cyber-attack owing to their outdated softwares. They are considered outdated as they have not been designed with cyber security in mind.
Plymouth University’s Maritime Cyber Threats Research Group suggests that operators can overcome this risk by simply updating their security systems besides improving their ship design with the help of a trained trained crew. In a traditional set up the list of prime attacks on ships include piracy, boarding, theft, destruction. Although these attacks continue they are comprehended and solved.
Whereas, the research article says that cyber-attacks are stealthy. Inspite of their sneaky approach they are prone to create a jeopardy in various areas such as business disruption, financial loss, damage to reputation, damage to goods and environment, incident response cost and fines and/or legal issues.
Professor Kevin Jones, Executive Dean of Science and Engineering, is lead author on the paper which also involved Dr Maria Papadaki, Lecturer in Network Security at Plymouth University and staff from the Security and Management Lab at HP Enterprise in Bristol. He said:
“In an increasingly connected and technologically dependent world, new areas of vulnerability are emerging. However, this dependency increases the vessel’s presence in the cyber domain, increasing its chances of being targeted and offering new vectors for such attacks. Longer term, there needs to be a fundamentally different approach to security of the entire maritime infrastructure meaning there is great need for specific cyber security research programmes focused on the maritime sector.”
As per the article published in Engineering and Technology Reference maritime cyber-attacks are bound to cause damage to the target systems that are responsible for navigation, propulsion and cargo-related functions with many incentives for attackers given that over 90 per cent of world trade occurs via the oceans.
The article also gives a clear picture of the possible threats arising from this scenario besides demonstrating the possible attacks and citing examples of where cyber-attacks have been successfully launched.
To look out for a breakthrough from this deadly attacks the research group suggests certain aspects which includes increased awareness, good practice in the industry, equipping the crew by providing them with adequate tools to avoid some attacks. The paper adds:
“As things stand, there are fundamental issues with securing the technology used in the maritime industry and the sector is probably the most vulnerable aspect of critical national infrastructure. Both security firms and hackers have found both general flaws and specific, real-world, flaws within the navigation systems of ships and it seems plausible that similar outdated systems for propulsion and cargo handling may also be compromised and abused by cyber-attackers.”
The Maritime Cyber Threats Research Group at Plymouth University has been formed to bring together leading-edge multidisciplinary research and practical expertise. It includes experts in cyber-security and maritime operations, as well as psychology, maritime law and policy, to investigate the marine cyber threat at all levels from theory through to practice.
Source: Plymouth
