# Assessing Cyber Challenges of Maritime Navigation
## 3 Findings
### Cyber Trends and Challenges
#### 3.3.2 Ships Suffer Cyberattack  
Ship onboard systems are susceptible to a cyberattack. There are reports [6; 32; 33; 44; 75; 77; 79; 80; 81; 82; 83; 84; 85; 86; 87; 88; 89; 90; 91; 92; 93] in which significant weaknesses of these systems have been identified. Modern technologies have integrated IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) onboard ships through networking and connectivity to the internet [2; 27; 94; 95; 96; 22]. However, there is no real segregation between the IT and OT networks. Any person can come in on the OT side and penetrate the IT side. We are seeing this now. Our analysis showed that there were many reports issued regarding anonymous hackers trying to disrupt ships' electronics/computers or to steal sensitive information. The impact of these kinds of attacks could be enormous. It has been noted that successful IT network hacks have their origins in the initial penetration of the OT system [2; 22]. To gain remote access to the IT or OT systems, the satellite, 4G, or Wi-Fi connections of the vessel have to be breached [22; 27; 32]. Concerning security, time is a complicating factor. Technological vulnerability and its exposure change significantly during the lifetime of a vessel. The IT and OT will need dedicated technical improvements over time. The maintenance on IT and OT systems must be aligned with their dock-time, of course, or appropriate remote access management should be in place to ensure that only the vendor is able to perform updates [14]. According to the analysis in [73], there are three prevalent cyber and information security risks related to the maritime sector in general:  
* Lack of timely response to technical vulnerabilities: A technology gap is identified between the IT and on ships and land-based systems. Land-based systems are usually better updated than the equivalent ship-based systems [97], which are, therefore, more susceptible to cyberattacks. * No process in place for upgrades: There is a risk if the upgrading process of OT equipment does not match the standards associated with IT technologies. * Securing critical systems: The potential consequences of a targeted attack to databases and registers based on older technology are lack of data integrity, loss of reputation, and a potential financial loss. Two different experiments conducted by [PERSON] et al. [98] and [PERSON] [6] demonstrated that cyberattacks against integrated navigational systems (INS), usually considered as an offline system, are relatively easily achievable. Disconnection from the internet prevents outside threats; however, the vulnerabilities arising from the unmaintained operating system could also be triggered by inside actors (the ship's crew), either unintentionally or maliciously. With the INS connection to the internet, the cyber threats would rise to a critical level, demanding instant action [3]. According to the BIMCO survey [93], the most vulnerable systems onboard ships are positioning systems (GPS, AIS, Radar), ECDIS, engine control, and monitoring. Like AIS, GPS for civilian use is not encrypted or authenticated, and each has been identified as potentially vulnerable to attack. ECDIS can be compromised in order to modify files and insert malicious content [6; 99]. An ECDIS compromise can take over the whole INS or display the vessel in a false position. A cyberattack can mislead a ship as, for example, in 2016 when two naval ships were misdirected in the Persian Gulf [100]. Another example happened in February 2017. Cybercriminals reportedly took control of the navigation systems of a German-owned 8250 TEU container vessel. The crew attempted to regain control and had to bring IT experts on board to solve the situation. The case serves as a \"pre-warning\" about hackers' abilities to gain control over the vessels to carry out, for instance, kidnap and ransom [101; 102]. Another potential cyberspace vulnerability is the Voyage Data Recorder (VDR), from its connection to other ship systems that links to online services through satellite communications.