A consortium of organisations in Singapore is collaborating to improve shipboard operational technology (OT) cyber security
This group will build the maritime shipboard OT (MariOT) testbed to support a host of cyber-security activities.
Class society ABS, iTrust, Center for Research in Cyber Security at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Singapore Polytechnic’s Centre of Excellence in Maritime Safety (CEMS) are members of the consortium.
The MariOT testbed will be the world’s first industrial-grade, cyber-physical platform, combining essential shipboard OT systems with virtual simulation models to help the shipping industry meet the challenges in implementing enhanced and cyber-secure OT on ships as the maritime sector pushes towards digitalisation.
MariOT aims to discover vulnerabilities in shipboard OT systems and develop and validate new cyber-security technologies without disrupting vessel operations.
“We will build virtual models of ship OT systems using advanced multi-physics modelling and simulation,” said ABS vice president and the head of ABS’ Global Simulation Center, Gu Hai.
“These models will be combined with the physical testbed to be built in SUTD and the simulator in CEMS to offer a safe and realistic environment to understand, evaluate and implement effective measures to secure ship OT equipment.”
SUTD and CEMS will use this initiative to strengthen the maritime industry’s resilience and awareness against cyber-security risks.
The Singapore Maritime Institute and the Maritime Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) are supporting this collaboration, “working closely with ABS and CEMS to bring this maritime cyber-security testbed to reality” said iTrust co-centre director Zhou Jianying.
CEMS will contribute its maritime cyber-security expertise to the partnership. “CEMS simulator platform will play an instrumental role in the success of the MariOT testbed in assessing our seafarers’ operational readiness to face and manage a cyber-intrusion on the shipboard with confidence,” said CEMS director Daniel Zhang.
