Cyberattacks have been rapidly increasing over the years, resulting to big financial losses to businesses for recovery, regulatory sanctions, as well as collateral damages, such as reputation and trust. In this respect, the maritime sector, which until now was considered safe due to the lack of Internet connectivity and the isolated nature of ships in the sea, is showing a 900% increase in cybersecurity breaches on operational technology as it enters the digital era. Although some research is being conducted in this area, maritime cybersecurity has not been deeply investigated. Hence, this paper provides a close investigation of the landscape of cybersecurity in the maritime sector with the aim of highlighting security problems and challenges. First, it explores the systems available on ships that could be targeted by attackers, their possible vulnerabilities that an attacker could exploit, the consequences if the system is accessed, and actual incidents. Then, it describes and analyses possible mitigation actions that can be utilised in advance to prevent such attacks. Finally, several challenges and open problems are discussed for future research.

In an ever-evolving technological industry, the oil and gas sector is already moving forward through the adaptation of Industry 4.0 and the adaptation of advanced cyber technologies through Oil and Gas 4.0. As IT/OT (information technology/operational technology) systems are evolving technologically, so are the cyber security threats faced by the offshore oil and gas assets. This paper aims to raise the awareness of cyber security threats and the organizational and technical measures that need to be adopted by the oil and gas industry for remote and complex assets in the upstream sector. A comprehensive literature review covering the areas of new IT/OT systems integration and cyber security risk analysis and management is presented. The results of a survey on the subject of cyber security for offshore oil and gas assets are also presented, and they provide valuable insight into the current industry culture and the perception of cyber security concepts. The importance of organizational culture, personnel training and involvement, as well as corporate engagement and support in the subject of cyber security is highlighted.

The maritime sector is a vital component of the global economy. Its international nature supersedes state boundaries and any disruption in its operations could have consequent and collateral global effects, affecting the socio-economic wellbeing of regions, states and peoples. The increasing adoption of digitalisation in the sector, primarily increases efficiency, minimize cost and maximise benefit, while improving safety, simultaneously introduces a new cyber threat landscape. The attack surface has broadened further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as recent, high-profile cyber attacks to shipping companies have indicated. Cybersecurity is not limited to technology but involves people and business processes. Hence, to mitigate the security risk introduced by cyber threat actors, the industry, like any other, should initially focus on identifying its most critical assets and then adopt risk mitigation measures, spreading from legislative initiatives to company-specific technology solutions. Industry-led initiatives should promote the adoption of cyber-related policies and mechanisms that focus on business continuity. It should be the role of international bodies, classification societies and national authorities to ensure compliance and full implementation of these measures. This paper adopts a System of Systems Analysis to carry out a vulnerability assessment of port and ship ecosystem, while providing insights on the role of the aforementioned entities. Our analysis decomposes the industry’s major assets; ports and ships, to specific subcomponents which are used as the basis of the vulnerability assessment. According to our findings, this approach highlights that the majority of these subcomponents; ports and ships, are increasingly vulnerable to cyber attacks.

This qualitative inductive research explores the potential benefits for the Scandinavian economy and ports through the implementation of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as an alternative for container shipping to the established Southern route through the Suez Canal. To extract expert’s opinions and address these objectives, we utilised in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews through purposive sampling in a single case study setting. The analysis of the data demonstrates that the commercialisation of NSR can yield benefits for the Scandinavian economy (e.g. GDP increase, jobs creation) and reveals the benefits of Scandinavian ports (e.g. ECA’s, flexibility, hinterland, etc.) compared to other ports in North West Europe, which potentially grasp the NSR as an opportunity. However, it is highlighted that this can only be achieved if Scandinavian countries are proactive and secure their involvement.