Risk from cyberattacks on autonomous ships

The vulnerability of technological and administrative systems to cyberattacks has been shown to be high in several cases, which has led to different unwanted consequences. Autonomous ships will also be exposed to the threat of cyberattacks, due to their need for connecting to operational, management and administrative systems onshore. The most critical hazards are possibly not associated with consequences for the ship itself or its cargo, but the threat to infrastructure along the coast and offshore if a ship under alien command is used as a “battering ram” to cause major structural damage. Even relatively small autonomous ships may pose a real threat, and ships sailing in international waters may come from distant locations. This implies that all autonomous ships may be considered as possible threats. This paper outlines the risk for some infrastructure systems. Even though the probability may be low, such events cannot be ruled out in the future, and the design of autonomous ships must involve a series of risk reducing actions and designs. possibly not associated with consequences for the ship itself or its cargo, but the threat to infrastructure along the coast and offshore if a ship under alien command is used as a ‘battering ram’ to cause major structural damage. Even relatively small autonomous ships represent a high kinetic energy when travelling at full speed and may thus pose a real threat to infrastructure systems. Ships sailing in international waters may come from distant locations. This implies that all autonomous ships may be considered as possible threats. It will not be sufficient to ensure that the high-quality classification societies have stringent require ments; all classification societies or IMO need to focus on such threats. We may think that the probability of cyberattacks may be low, but such events cannot be ruled out in the future. We therefore believe that it is important, before autonomous ships are built and commissioned, that the marine and maritime industry at large, consider this threat and takes necessary actions to implement sufficient risk control actions. A cyber-attack may have some parallels with the terrorist attack on USS Cole, the United States Navy guided-missile destroyer, on 12th October 2000, while it was being refueled in Yemen’s Aden harbor (US Navy, 2001). 17 sailors were killed and 39 injured, due to the attack from a small fiberglass boat carrying explosives and two suicide bombers. The boat approached the port side of the destroyer in bright daylight, and exploded, creating a 12 by 18 m gash in the ship’s port side from what was estimated to 180–320 kg of explosives.