AIS data vulnerability indicated by a spoofing case-study

Androjna, Andrej (author), Perkovič, Marko (author), Pavic, Ivica (author), Mišković, Jakša (author)

This paper takes a close look at the landscape of the Automatic Identification System (AIS) as a major source of information for maritime situational awareness (MSA) and identifies its vulnerabilities and challenges for safe navigation and shipping. As an important subset of cyber threats affecting many maritime systems, the AIS is subject to problems of tampering and reliability; indeed, the messages received may be inadvertently false, jammed, or intentionally spoofed. A systematic literature review was conducted for this article, complemented by a case study of a specific spoofing event near Elba in December 2019, which confirmed that the typical maritime AIS could be easily spoofed and generate erroneous position information. This intentional spoofing has affected navigation in international waters and passage through territorial waters. The maritime industry is neither immune to cyberattacks nor fully prepared for the risks associated with the use of modern digital systems. Maintaining seaworthiness in the face of the impact of digital technologies requires a robust cybersecurity framework.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Automatic Identification System, AIS, cybersecurity, anomaly detection, spoofing, maritime situational awareness, safety of navigation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FPP - Faculty of Maritime Studies and Transport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2021
• Number of pages: 25 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 11, iss. 11, art. 5015
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-135429
• UDC: 656.6:004.056
• ISSN on article: 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app11115015
• COBISS.SI-ID: 69578499
• Publication date in RUL: 14.03.2022

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Applied sciences
• Shortened title: Appl. sci.
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2076-3417
• COBISS.SI-ID: 522979353

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.
• Licensing start date: 01.06.2021

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: AIS, sistemi za avtomatsko prepoznavanje, kibernetska varnost, zaznavanje anomalij, varnost plovbe, lažna prikazovanja

Projects

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: L7-1847
• Name: Razvoj trajnostnega modela rasti "zelenega pristanišča"

• Funder: ARRS - Slovenian Research Agency
• Project number: P2-0394
• Name: Modeliranje in simulacije v prometu in pomorstvu