Creating a Virtual Ship Environment Optimized for Cybersecurity Use
Explores the architecture of a hybrid virtual ship simulator augmented with marine engine and instrument emulators for maritime security research.
Summary
Limitations of Standard Maritime Simulators
Commercial maritime simulators are designed to train deck officers for navigational certifications (STCW) and lack the underlying network architectures necessary for cybersecurity assessments and research.
Hybrid Virtual Ship Architecture
Jeff Greer presents research from UNCW establishing a hybrid virtual ship environment that integrates full-mission bridge simulations with specialized hardware emulators and virtualized industrial controllers.
Simulating Engine Controls and Bridge Instruments
By augmenting commercial simulators (such as the Unitest Winterthur X92 marine engine simulator) with virtualized CAN and NMEA interfaces, researchers can inject cyberattacks and observe realistic physical vessel responses.
Applications in Education and Security Research
The hybrid testbed provides a safe, reproducible environment for training maritime defenders, testing intrusion detection algorithms, and evaluating shipboard cyber resilience.
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