Holmesglen Institutional Repository

Title
Enabling cyber resilient shipping through maritime security operation center adoption: a human factors perspective
Publication Date
2024-09
Author(s)
Nganga, Allan
Scanlan, Joel
Lützhöft, Margareta
Mallam, Steven
Affiliation
Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL), Norway
Holmesglen Institute
Marine Institute, Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), Canada
University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), Norway
Sponsorship
Centre for Cyber Security and Digital Information Technology
Faculty
Centre for Cyber Security and Digital Information Technology
Subject
Maritime security operations center
Cyber resilience
Human factors
Type of document
Journal Article
journal-article
Entity Type
Publication
Abstract
Open access.
Abstract
The increased adoption of digital systems in the maritime domain has led to concerns about cyber resilience, especially in the wake of increasingly disruptive cyber-attacks. This has seen vessel operators increasingly adopt Maritime Security Operation Centers (M-SOCs), an action in line with one of the cyber resilience engineering techniques known as adaptive response, whose purpose is to optimize the ability to respond promptly to attacks. This research sought to investigate the domain-specific human factors that influence the adaptive response capabilities of M-SOC analysts to vessel cyber threats. Through collecting interview data and subsequent thematic analysis informed by grounded theory, cyber awareness of both crew onboard and vessel operators emerged as a pressing domain-specific challenge impacting M-SOC analysts' adaptive response. The key takeaway from this study is that vessel operators remain pivotal in supporting the M-SOC analysts’ adaptive response processes through resource allocation towards operational technology (OT) monitoring and cyber personnel staffing onboard the vessels.
Publisher
Elsevier
Link
Citation
Volume 119, Article 104312
ISSN
0003-6870

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