BridgeInsight: An asset profiler for penetration testing in a heterogeneous maritime bridge environment

Abstract

A maritime bridge environment is a heterogeneous ecosystem of complex systems for various operations. As part of new requirements set by the International Association of Classification Societies, ship operators must now maintain an asset inventory aboard vessels specifically to improve their cyber security. This paper discusses the development of a ship-specific asset profiler that will not only identify and record the devices present automatically but also provide an in-depth analysis of their properties and characteristics in an intelligent and user-friendly manner. As cyberattacks increase in the maritime industry, proper testing of ship systems is essential, to ensure vessels remain secure and the risk of a cyberattack is minimized. An asset profiler for the bridge environment would serve as a tool for profiling the devices, helping personnel make faster and well-informed decisions, and could be a component of a wider audit framework. This paper presents a ship bridge profiler (i.e., BridgeInsight) used to identify all devices on the bridge of a vessel automatically and which provides information on them using a generated PDF report that consists of graphs and charts. To do this, it uses the Random Forest classifier algorithm, and the information it provides will enable the auditor or pen tester to perform manual testing or automate audits, while also providing comprehensive information that engineers and mariners can use to comply with regulations. Highlights As part of new requirements set by the International Association of Classification Societies, ship operators must now maintain asset inventory aboard vessels specifically to improve their cyber security. This paper presents a ship bridge profiler (i.e., BridgeInsight) used to identify all devices on the bridge of a vessel automatically. We envision automated asset detection and classification to have even more benefit in future cyber security work, as penetration testing.