Enhancing Maritime Cybersecurity through Operational Technology Sensor Data Fusion: A Comprehensive Survey and...

Area of Science:

• Maritime technology
• Cybersecurity
• Data fusion

Background:

• The maritime environment presents a vast cyberattack surface due to interconnected systems like ships, ports, and logistics.
• Cyberattacks in this domain can compromise critical information systems, impacting safety and security.
• Operational technology (OT) sensors, including navigation and surveillance systems, are crucial for maritime situational awareness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if fusing operational technology (OT) data can enhance maritime cybersecurity.
• To determine if OT data fusion improves real-time or near-real-time detection of cyberincidents.
• To provide a comprehensive analysis of literature on sensor data fusion for maritime cybersecurity.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature review of maritime cybersecurity and data fusion techniques.
• Analysis of operational technology (OT) data from various maritime sensors, including Radio Frequency (RF).
• Evaluation of data fusion approaches for improving maritime cyber situational awareness and incident detection.

Main Results:

• Fusing OT data shows potential for enhancing maritime cybersecurity.
• Data fusion can improve the real-time detection capabilities for cyberincidents in the maritime domain.
• The study emphasizes the role of RF and other sensors in conjunction with data fusion.

Conclusions:

• Fusing OT data is a promising strategy for bolstering maritime cybersecurity.
• Improved situational awareness through data fusion directly contributes to better cyber incident detection.
• Further research into sensor fusion techniques is recommended for advanced maritime cyber defense.