Spy ships, cyber-attacks and shadow fleets: the crack security team braced for trouble at sea | Global development

SThe hips who are seized remotely by the infiltrators and made to a disruption is a scenario made in Hollywood. But in the security operations room in Oslo, a few meters away from the sparkling strait and its tourist boats, the floating sauna and researchers, marine Internet experts say it is not only technically possible, but is ready to happen.

“We are completely sure that this will happen sooner or later, and this is what we are looking for,” he says. Øystein Brekke-Sanderud, a great analyst at the online maritime flexibility center (Nordic Maritime (Nordic Maritime)Norma Cyber). On the wall behind it there is a live map of ships that it monitors and its screens full of graphs and symbols. Two small rubber ducks watch the procedures from the top.

In an unstable world, shipping, ports and stations takes great strategic importance as targets to believe in infrastructure and espionage. This is especially closely related to the northern countries, which shares the borders of the Earth and the Navy with Russia.

Finland and Sweden are now members of NATO and all countries enhance their defense capabilities amid hybrid attacks and increasing fear of war.

With the increasing digitization of ships – as a result, more opportunities for piracy – as well as slicing artificial intelligence tools quickly to accelerate the roaming in complex systems, it is the case of Matthew, not if.

These systems [on ships] Very complicated and difficult to understand how to run it. But with artificial intelligence, you can only continue to ask questions: “How does this component work?” Can you pass through this 300 -page guide and find the password? “Everything is going quickly.”

Its headquarters is located at the Norwegian Ship Bank Association headquarters on the Norwegian capital, Norma Cyber ​​works alongside her and the mutual insurance association for Norwegian ship owners (DNK).

The three organizations met two years ago to establish a security and flexibility center in shipping to monitor the global threat of war, terrorism and piracy – material and digital. They also do on behalf of the Norwegian government.

While the ship is disrupted from a technically possible, infiltrators who hope to cause chaos you do not need to go to these dramatic lengths. Lars Benjamin Fold, the managing director of Norma Cyber, says that just making something on a stopping ship may lead to blackout on a ship or disruption of systems.

There is increasing evidence that countries are looking to harness these powers against their opponents at sea.

It is already understood that Iran has discussed how to use electronic attacks to disrupt the Al-Saboura systems-which pump water into vessels to ensure stability – To influence ships and satellite systems. April witnessed an unprecedented breakthrough that he claimed 116 Iranian Vsat modem Used to communicate via satellites by ships – simultaneously.

“When you talk about national countries, it comes to doing something,” says Fold. While potential “actors” of threats such as Russia and China have large -scale capabilities, they must comply with their mission, which can change at any time.

So, while the level of threat was relatively fixed, marine weaknesses are high. “Things are more and more dancing, so there are more possible ways,” says Fold.

Norma Cyber ​​also reported civilian ships such as fishing boats, research ships, shipping vessels used in spying in Baltic, North Atlantic and Northern Pole. USB devices were also used to infiltrate marine systems, including a threat actor associated with China called Mustang Panda.

Last year, Norma Cyber ​​noticed a sabotage electronic attack in the marine sector, with the NONAM057 (16) supportive group.

Perhaps the opposite, the increasing dependence on digitization ends with more demand for old navigation skills. When the crews contradict the jamming of satellite navigation systems in the Baltic – Finland accused Russia of being behind these turmoil – they are left with a small option but to move without them. “The sea comfort is the best reduction,” says Fold.

But in addition to the invisible threats of the digital world, the marine industry also faces unprecedented material problems. Vladimir Putin The growth of the shadow fleet Among the hundreds of non -regulatory vessels that carry crude oil from Russia to China and India are often an increasing threat to the environment and global shipping infrastructure.

The shadow fleet consists of aging oil tanks, whose identities are hidden to help circumvent Western economic sanctions imposed on Moscow. Estimation Their number ranges from 600 To 900 ships, according to some sources.

The threats of ships can come from the inside. Motors, elevators and water purification systems are all possible targets on board. With 15 % of crew members On the international level, either Ukrainian or Russian, the formation of crews on ships has taken new importance since the full invasion of Russia for Ukraine.

“If you have a Russian captain on a ship bearing help to Ukraine, then they do not mix this well, right?” Svein Ringbakken, DNK administrative director, says. “So these sensitivities are treated in the industry.”

Line Falkenberg Ollenstad, a consultant at the Norwegian Ship Ships Association and an expert in the shadow fleet, is afraid that his increasing presence is to create a “parallel fleet” of secure low ships that work on margins, where they do not know what is happening on board or its seafood.

She says that if there is an environmental incident on a ship, it also pose a threat to the Norway coast. She says that some ships listed as punishing by the United States are still working. Most of them are at least 15 years old. “Our interest is that the situation gets worse as it continues.”

She adds that another big question is whether the entire situation has already gone very far to return.

“Is the shadow fleet that works outside the western states in the new way? Or can we reversed this?” Ollenstad asks. “The answer is: We do not know.”