Cyber-threat aspects in a complex system-of-systems environment : a case study in remote pilotage

Abstract

Society’s vital functions depend on critical infrastructure which covers many elements, from energy production to transportation of goods. This environment is transforming toward an automated and digitalized future. This future creates new information technology environments and networked systems that may include legacy components that were not designed to function securely outside an isolated environment. Furthermore, the dependency between separate systems creates a system of systems that are more complex to design. The development of a digitalized operation of systems will decrease the risk of human error, as decisions are either made by the systems themselves or a human operator receives guidance and alerts. However, removal of the human element introduces new types of threats when, for example, human vision is removed from sensing the operational surroundings. This may delay detection of malfunctions if the corresponding digital sensor is not deployed. Accidents and malfunctions are examples of events that occur incidentally. However, a digitalized environment increases the risk of deliberate malicious cyber-attacks. Therefore, to protect these new environments, understanding the cyber threats and actors is vital. This dissertation discusses this type of development and presents a remote pilotage environment, ePilotage, as a case study in which cyber threats are examined. The research produces a description of the threat actor and scenarios that may be used with the design process and development of the ePilotage environment. As maritime transportation and ports are considered part of the European critical infrastructure, this case study provides knowledge for other critical infrastructures that are transforming from traditional engineering environments to interconnected versions.