Cybersecurity on Ships

With increased digitization and networking aboard ships, the risk for data abuse and cybercrime also increases. Anyone considering the possibilities of Maritime 4.0 must also consider the increased requirements for cybersecurity – and more importantly, find suitable solutions for implementing it.

A ship's various intelligent subsystems ensure problem-free operation: from tank and ballast water management through drive control up to alarm and monitoring systems. They all function using industrial automation technology.

At many points, advantages result from networking these subsystems – for example, when ship operations can run with greater resource or energy efficiency. The exchange of sensitive data also increases everywhere systems are networked. And yet this is not enough. In comparison to applications on land, ships have additional electronics like navigation, tracking and collision warning systems. They serve the safety of the ship; however, they also represent an additional threat, primarily because they not only increase the level of onboard networking, but also establish external connections. Internet-based network technologies or mobile services are seeing greater use for these connections. And these communication paths provide access points for manipulation – particularly at the points between the ship and land.

There also seems to be agreement that additional communication relations are generated by Industry 4.0 or Maritime 4.0, providing an increasing potential for cyberattacks. What is more important is that isolation concepts are reaching their limits. This is because of the opportunities provided by networking, which both increases the frequency of outside access and allows much deeper penetration into the ship's automation systems than before. There is a completely transparent reason for this: by using remote solutions, shipping companies obtain the possibility for remote diagnosis of their ships, which allows them to optimize their fleets and remarket the recorded data. In addition, they can reduce labor costs if fewer personnel or a less qualified crew is used that can receive support from engineers on land for repairs.

Such technical possibilities already exist and are capable of closing gaps in security. For example, a reliable means of communication is the establishment of a virtual private network (VPN), based on OpenVPN and using SSL/TLS connections (Secure Sockets Layer, Transport Layer Security). These connections enable the transmission of encrypted data, even over wireless communication systems. WAGO establishes such VPN tunnels using OpenVPN or IPsec directly from the WAGO PFC200 Controller. The WAGO controller additionally records all relevant measurement and control data, encrypts it directly in the controller using SSL encryption and transmits the data as VPN. This means that no additional VPN tunnels have to be established by modems or routers, and, what may be more decisive, the line between the controller and modem is then directly encrypted as well.

Text: Norman Südekum, Eva Bannholzer | WAGO

Photo: WAGO