A unique new research facility designed to address the key cyber security challenges facing the shipping industry is being established at the University of Plymouth.
Cyber-SHIP Lab brings together connected maritime systems
The £3 million Cyber-SHIP Lab, supported by funding from Research England, part of UK Research and Innovation, and industry, will bring together a host of connected maritime systems currently found on an actual ship’s bridge.
Experts in cyber security and information systems will then assess them for weaknesses, and identify the human and technological changes needed to make them secure for the future.
The Lab is being developed and delivered in partnership with key industry sectors including equipment manufacturers, solution developers, shipping and port operators, ship builders, classification agencies and insurance companies.
It will feature cutting edge maritime technology including radar equipment, a voyage data recorder (VDR), an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS), an automatic identification system (AIS) and communications devices.
And it will complement the University’s existing world-leading maritime facilities, which include a state-of-the-art simulator dedicated to training professional seafarers, and a lab examining latest cybersecurity advances.
Developing a national centre for research into maritime cybersecurity
The creation of the Cyber-SHIP Lab is being coordinated by researchers from the University’s Maritime Cyber Threats Research Group and Centre for Security, Communications and Network Research, which between them combine leading multidisciplinary research and practical expertise from across the University and beyond.
Professor Kevin Jones, Executive Dean for Science and Engineering and Principal Investigator for the Project, said: “The creation of the Cyber-SHIP Lab is a transformational step towards developing a national centre for research into testing safeguarding actual maritime systems
