A Ship Honeynet Project to Collect Data on Cyber Threats to the Maritime Sector

This paper discusses the development of a ship Honeynet. The criticality and fragility of Global Maritime Transportation System (GMTS) has been clearly demonstrated during the COVID-19 Pandemic. At the same time fleets are aging and their technology is aging with them and thus more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. This paper will describe a project aiming to gather information on current cyber-attacks on vessels using a Honeynet to gather data. Honeypots are Internet systems deployed for the sole purpose of being compromised to observe adversaries. Networks of Honeypots are termed Honeynets and, like network telescopes, are typically deployed on otherwise unused address space. While Honeypot/Honeynets are not new, simulating all the different systems of a ship to research cyber attackers targeting them is a new concept. A ship in real life consists of multiple digital systems including for navigation, communication, safety, propulsion, cargo management and numerous other purposes. This paper will explain the concept of Honeynets and a ship Honeynet in particular, also benefits and design considerations. This paper will also discuss the challenge of making the Honeynet digitally realistic and attractive for cyber attackers to interact with and drop targeted malware and other interesting artefacts.