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As the maritime industry, responsible for facilitating nearly 90% of global trade continues to evolve digitally, it has become an increasingly prominent target for advanced cyber adversaries.
Recent threat intelligence from Cyble reveals a significant uptick in over a hundred cyberattacks against the sector in the past year alone, with coordinated campaigns by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, financially motivated actors, ransomware syndicates, and hacktivists exploiting maritime organizations’ expanding attack surface.
Financially Motivated Cyberattacks
The growing integration of operational technology (OT), satellite communications, and digital logistics makes shipping lines, ports, and marine services highly susceptible to attack, especially amid deepening geopolitical instability.
In a notable incident this March, an anti-Iranian group, Lab Dookhtegan, allegedly disrupted VSAT communications across 116 Iranian vessels, severing both inter-ship and ship-to-port links believed to be critical for maritime situational awareness and logistics particularly impacting entities accused of supplying arms to Houthi forces.
Electronic interference, including GPS jamming and AIS spoofing, has escalated across major chokepoints like the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, creating serious navigational hazards and putting vessel safety in jeopardy.
The maritime sector has also found itself ensnared in great-power competition: Russian APTs have targeted European ports aligned with Ukraine, Chinese actors have infiltrated classification societies that certify global fleets, and pro-Palestinian hacktivists have tracked Israeli-linked tankers using AIS data.
Across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, groups including SideWinder APT, Mustang Panda, APT41, APT28, and Crimson Sandstorm have all mounted operations targeting shipping and logistics, leveraging USB-based malware, supply chain intrusions, and advanced malware frameworks such as ShadowPad and DUSTTRAP.
Regionally-focused groups like Turla, RedCurl, and the Chamel Gang have also been active, conducting industrial espionage and ransomware attacks against maritime assets.
Exposes Sector Vulnerabilities
Meanwhile, the dark web has seen a rise in the sale of sensitive data and persistent access to maritime industry networks.
Threat actors on underground forums have claimed to possess troves of confidential information from port credentials and SSL certificates to naval simulator virtual machines and detailed NMEA telegrams essential for engine control systems.
The exfiltration of ship blueprints, technical documentation, and confidential communications increases the risk of both economic sabotage and direct attacks on maritime safety. Technical vulnerabilities remain a persistent weak point.
Cyble researchers have highlighted critical exposures in popular maritime and industrial systems, including Citrix NetScaler (CVE-2025-5777, CVE-2025-6543), Emerson ValveLink (CVE-2025-52579), and various Cisco platforms (CVE-2025-20309, CVE-2024-20418, CVE-2024-20354).
Of particular concern are long-standing unpatched flaws in COBHAM SAILOR VSAT satellite communications equipment instrumental for global fleet operations that remain exploitable in many shipboard environments.
To combat these evolving threats, leading experts recommend enhanced network isolation, strict bans on unauthorized USB devices and cellular modems, deployment of data diodes between OT systems, RF shielding, segmented VLANs, real-time spectrum monitoring, and comprehensive application whitelisting.
Incident response must be tailored to operational contexts, involving cross-functional teams capable of handling both IT and OT disruptions, with regular drills simulating ransomware and APT scenarios.
According to the report, Supply chain security also warrants urgent attention: maritime organizations are urged to restrict remote access on foreign-manufactured equipment, adopt cryptographically signed software bill of materials (SBOMs), and use blockchain-verified chart updates.
Finally, as regulatory frameworks evolve, the industry must accelerate alignment with forthcoming U.S. Coast Guard cybersecurity rules, IACS unified requirements (UR E26/E27), and the EU’s NIS2 Directive mandates.
The future security and resilience of maritime operations will depend on proactive vulnerability management, robust access controls, and a coordinated response to the ever-expanding threat landscape targeting critical global shipping infrastructure.
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