Network Attacks Against Marine Radar Systems: A Taxonomy, Simulation Environment, and Dataset

Abstract

Shipboard marine radar systems are essential for safe navigation, helping seafarers perceive their surroundings as they provide bearing and range estimations, object detection, and tracking. Since onboard systems have become increasingly digitized, interconnecting distributed electronics, radars have been integrated into modern bridge systems. But digitization increases the risk of cyberattacks, especially as vessels cannot be considered air-gapped. Consequently, in-depth security is crucial. However, particularly radar systems are not sufficiently protected against harmful network-level adversaries. Therefore, we ask: Can seafarers believe their eyes? In this paper, we identify possible attacks on radar communication and discuss how these threaten safe vessel operation in an attack taxonomy. Furthermore, we develop a holistic simulation environment with radar, complementary nautical sensors, and prototypically implemented cyberattacks from our taxonomy. Finally, leveraging this environment, we create a comprehensive dataset (RadarPWN) with radar network attacks that provides a foundation for future security research to secure marine radar communication.

Comprehensive Analysis of Maritime Cybersecurity Landscape Based on the NIST CSF v2.0

“…Recognizing the essential role of data transmission security in the IoUT, Ravi et al [93] emphasized the need for robust encrypted color images to ensure data integrity and confidentiality. Similarly, Wolsing et al [94] addressed the increased risk of cyberattacks on digital shipboard marine radar systems, prompting the need to protect sensitive information in the maritime context. Lastly, Onishchenko et al's [95] research highlighted the need for encrypted data in ship information systems (SISs) to enhance the security of confidential data and mitigate cyber threats in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…There is a consensus on the need for comprehensive education and training programs to build sufficient cybersecurity knowledge across all levels of the industry. • Data Security: Data security has been identified as a critical area of advancement, with the research proposing various strategies to protect data within the maritime sector[60,[81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95]. This includes the development of technologies and processes to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of maritime data.…”

Enhancing Maritime Cybersecurity through Operational Technology Sensor Data Fusion: A Comprehensive Survey and Analysis

“…It is considered that similar capabilities exist for the real-/near-real-time detection of cyberincidents. To detect cyberincidents, statistical algorithms can be employed to identify anomalies in sensor status or data flow, such as through Bayesian fusion [ 55 ], or to recognize network attacks [ 243 ]. Additionally, these statistical methods can calculate threshold values or percentages to determine if anomalies are due to a cyberincident.…”

Electronic Attacks as a Cyber False Flag against Maritime Radars Systems

“…Wolsing et al [6] introduce a taxonomy for attacks against maritime radars. The impacts they analyze concern the G-1 goal.…”

“…Literature works demonstrate examples where malicious individuals have disrupted these systems either by infiltrating the network [4] or by manipulating traffic directly on the radar workstation [5, P.35], [6]. The results of such attacks can include the Denial of Service or manipulating the display, such as adding, deleting, or modifying targets.…”