Cyberattacks on ships: a wicked problem approach

Abstract

Purpose The maritime industry is increasingly impacted by the Internet of things (IoT) through the automation of ships and port activities. This increased automation creates new security vulnerabilities for the maritime industry in cyberspace. Any obstruction in the global supply chain due to a cyberattack can cause catastrophic problems in the global economy. This paper aims to review automatic identification systems (AISs) aboard ships for cyber issues and weaknesses. Design/methodology/approach The authors do so by comparing the results of two receiver systems of the AIS in the Port of Houston; the JAMSS system aboard the Space Station and the “Harborlights” system for traffic control in the Port. Findings The authors find that inconsistent information is presented on the location of same ships at the same time in the Port. Upon further investigation with pilots, the authors find that these inconsistencies may be the result of the strength of power with which an AIS is transmitted. It appears the power may be reduced to the AIS in port but that it varies within port and varies by pilot operators. This practice may open the AIS system for tampering. Originality/value Further, this inconsistency may require further policy regulation to properly address cyber information in a port.

Eleven years of cyberattacks on Chinese supply chains in an era of cyber warfare, a review and future research agenda

“…Firms showed benefits, such as an increase of productivity, and faster time responses to suppliers and consumers. RA from the Adoption of decision-making processes is more relevant for organizations in logistics, maritime (Mileski et al, 2018) and manufacturing organizations (Huma et al, 2021;Khaw et al, 2021) than for those organizations in the service industry. On a comparative note, Yeboah-Ofori et al (2021), highlighted the following sectors as cyber vulnerable: Energy, Communication, Transport, Health-care and Manufacturing, and calls on cybersecurity to include the global delivery of physical goods plus the delivery of software.…”

Cyber Security in the Maritime Industry: A Systematic Survey of Recent Advances and Future Trends

“…Visualisation and analysis enabled by the multiple streams of data inform on entire on-vessel operations, a full view of the critical system components and associated IoT devices with their inter-connectivity. However, the resultant increase in levels of automation creates new security vulnerabilities [160]. The components integral to the bridge, engine and propulsion control have been largely discussed in Section 4.1; thus, this subsection is devoted to a mapping of reported IoT-enabled cyber attacks both on vessel and in port.…”

Assessing Cyber Challenges of Maritime Navigation

“…The maritime cybersecurity legal issues are complex [40]. In 2017, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) adopted resolution MSC.428 (98) on Maritime Cyber Risk Management in Safety Management System (SMS) [47].…”

“…Of particular concern is the relative ease [32] by which these systems can be jammed (through denial of reception by a competing signal) or spoofed (through deliberate introduction of a false signal). Satellite navigation is a vital part of a wide variety of the shipboard, port, and even oil rig systems [22,[32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39], including the Automatic Identification System (AIS) that is vital for navigation safety [40].…”