Raising awareness on cyber security of ECDIS

In the maritime transport, the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) has been developed into a complex computer-based ship critical operational technology system, playing central roles in the safe ship navigation and transport. While ECDIS software maintenance is regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ECDIS performance standards and related circulars, underlying software and hardware arrangements are implemented by ship-owners and supported by ECDIS equipment manufacturers. In this paper, we estimate ECDIS cyber security in order to study the origin of ECDIS cyber security risks. A set of ECDIS systems is examined using an industry-leading vulnerability scanning software tool, and cyber threats regarding the ECDIS backup arrangement, underlying operating system and third party applications are studied.