“They provide insight into the future of maritime warfare and the protection of the civilian and commercial maritime sector, and highlight the evolving nature of military strategy and its wider implications for maritime security,” DEAS said.
The test was developed in real time and timed to allow cyber attacks to affect simulated physical processes, allowing the crew to evaluate how to penetrate defenses and the best response strategies in an integrated conflict situation. As with many military technologies, DEAS noted there will inevitably be scope for future use in the civilian domain, where maritime cyber attacks are on the rise.
Serious cyber attacks have increased sharply over the past five years, from an average of 139 to 232 per month. According to an analysis by the Italian information security association CLUSIT, the number of attacks will increase by 60% between 2019 and 2023, and will increase by 11% globally and 65% in Italy in 2023.
These exercises “will be an effective laboratory for testing in practice several new technological solutions and the resulting innovative doctrines in the new context of hybrid conflicts. They offer a glimpse into the future of maritime warfare as well as the protection of the civil and commercial naval sector,” commented DEAS Director Stefania Landzato.
Ficantieri CEO Pieroberto Forgiero said the group's new industrial plan aims to extend its integrator capabilities from the physical realm to “the logical realm of the ship, which today is increasingly seen as a 'system of systems' and a digital asset.”
As new ships become more automated and digitalised, there needs to be increased focus on cyber threats to ship security.
“Our collaboration with the Navy, our partnerships with industry leaders and exercises like today's allow us to consolidate a range of products and solutions deployed in naval defense and successfully extend them to the civilian sector, with a dual perspective typical of Fincantieri's DNA,” Forgiero said.
