Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2016)

MARITIME SECURITY Cyber World Cyber World

Safer Seas via Phantom Ships

BY EMIL MUCCIN re we that far away from From a recent conference I attended in Control Systems (ICS’s) aboard vessels. do plenty of damage.

phantom fully autonomous Brest, France it was indicated that cyber This will be the primary intrusion mech- Another area of signi? cant impor- vessels plying the world’s threats can come from three sources: anism for cyber-attacks via unauthorized tance is the use and control aboard ves-

Aseas? Not according to internal, external, and sabotage/espio- access to the vessels control systems sels of Programmable Logic Controllers many in the know. Many predict by nage. It was noted that external threats and networks utilizing communication (PLC’s). Most non-technical person- 2020 that we will see this type of ship get the most publicity and news but that channels. Predominantly this will be ac- nel are not aware that a PLC is a type with a limited crew in smaller applica- internal threats had the potential for be- complished via remote Radio Frequency of computer that controls most devices tions such as the marine highway short ing the most-costly and severe. Each (RF) interception unless the attack oc- and equipment in today’s world. Not haul scenarios, local ferry service such of these threat categories brings with it curs on the vessel, most likely through a only does it control the equipment, it as the Staten Island ferry and offshore speci? c factors that must be addressed USB port or a serial port. also troubleshoots it and acts as the brain supply boats in the Gulf of Mexico. by the maritime community as we move Intangible is a key word to look at in of the device. This maybe the Pandora’s

Phantom/drone unmanned ships re- forward in our quest to unmanned ves- the wireless world as every wireless de- box or Achilles’ heel of the PLC as it is portedly would be safer, cheaper and sels. This paradox has taken on a new vice is simplistically a radio that is con- the back door for someone to get in and less polluting for an industry that carries meaning as we take leaps and bounds to stantly sending and receiving data and control your equipment. Engineers use approximately 90% of the world trade. compete with other industries that are signals. This makes them and all ship- remote PC’s to access the PLC to per-

However as with aircraft drones and on successfully using autonomous technol- board systems that require these trans- form maintenance and troubleshoot the the horizon driverless auto’s, we must be ogy. These include aviation with drones missions extremely vulnerable. A prime equipment.

concerned with regulatory and safety is- and now automotive with Apple, Google example of this vulnerability was the re- Research and a recent survey have sues. Of utmost importance is the safety and Tesla in the lead to be the ? rst with a cent University of Texas GPS spoo? ng shown that a typical ship can have any- factor as in most industries it fundamen- fully automated hands off the wheel au- of a luxury yacht in the Gulf of Mexico. where up to 36 PLC’s onboard. It pro- tally comes down to human or “pilot er- tomobile. It truly is becoming a science Researchers, relatively easily with mini- vides the opportunity for intrusion by ror.” So if we can remove the mariner ? ction movie in a “Future World”. mal cost, were able to divert this yacht the cyber hackers and relatively new

As technnology continunues to march forward faster regarding Autonomy and Big Data usage in the maritime realm, the matters of autonomy and Cyber Security become inexorably linked. Cyber threats essentially come from three sources: internal, external, and sabotage/espionage; while external threats get the most publicity, internal threats have the potential for being the most severe. from the equation we have in theory How do we in the maritime and ship- off its intended track with no alarms hacktivists (foreign group of politically made the shipping industry safer. This ping industry stay ahead of the curve and being sounded. It was truly a remark- active hackers with anti-US motives) at factor along with the reduction in cost of plan for success when we fully do not able feat with little fanfare. Imagine if multiple entry points.

crewing and ? nding competent mariners have a solid grasp of the magnitude of a hacker had done this to a commercial What can a ship do to prevent this level may make this option much more viable cyber threats and crime banging on our vessel coming into New York Harbor? of in? ltration with the potential of losing to shipping companies on the fence. portholes? Or what about a hacker getting into the control of all or some ship functions to

These sudden advances in technology Although the technology is there many ECDIS chart database and moving one an outside source? Sources such as the will also bring with them the potential have not fully embraced it from both an buoy that could put a vessel at jeopardy U.S. Navy are in the process of devel- for intrusions via the cyber world so we evolutionary and defensive posture and of going aground or worse. oping a Resilient Hull, Mechanical and must stay ever vigilant and “install plan much needs to be done before it can be In our current cyber world these elec- Electrical Security system (RHIMES) by design measures” to thwart these po- fully implemented or combatted. If we tromagnetic anomalies allow every on- that will perform as a cyber protection tential in? ltrations. When we contem- do not move quickly the potential for board device that can receive these sig- system using plan by design measures to plate cybercrime and security many in- a catastrophic event with major conse- nals whether the GPS, AIS, ECDIS or a make its onboard mechanical and electri- dividuals think in a narrow focus of the quences increases proportionately. PLC to be a potential source and gate- cal control systems resilient and with the hacking recently of the OPM database Of utmost importance as we move way for cyber criminals to connect to the ultimate goal resistant to cyber-attacks.

and the theft of personnel data as well as forward in the autonomous world is the ships systems. Once inside the device or Mechanical and electrical control sys- the Target chain credit card breach. development of safeguards to Industrial network, the hackers have the ability to tems have been previously attacked with 20 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • JANUARY 2016

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