91福利社 Cybersecurity major John 鈥淛ack鈥� McCotter took part in a competition devoted to technologies that guide global maritime transportation.听
McCotter, along with students from across the nation,听was invited to compete听in听the University of North Carolina Wilmington Cybersecurity听Marine Hackathon, a听fast-paced,听hands-on academic event听hosted by the UNCW Center for Cyber Defense Education听December 16-18, 2025.听
The competition exposed students to technologies needed to safely guide ships over thousands of miles and also monitor their many internal onboard systems. Its objective is to strengthen the maritime cybersecurity workforce through applied learning, simulation-based challenges and collaboration across academia, industry and government. 听
Technologies听studied听ranged听from Modbus, a protocol that听is used听to听monitor听and control听systems听on board鈥攖o听Global Positioning Systems (GPS)听used aboard ships.听听
鈥�Everything is computer-based now,” McCotter says, adding that the huge printed nautical charts that guided generations of ship captains have become obsolete. 鈥淭he government stopped making paper charts… If your data gets breached,听that’s听a big problem… If systems go down,听that’s听a big problem, too. If port operations go down,听that’s听a huge problem. If a boat听can’t听see the depth of the water, if radar stops working because someone is jamming it somehow,听that鈥檚听a huge problem.鈥澨�听
A big takeaway for McCotter and others involved in the competition is the need for qualified professionals听to听assess ships, new and old, for technical vulnerabilities, finding effective and听feasible听ways to secure systems听that these vessels听rely on听for safety while underway and to听get safely from port to port.听听
鈥淥ne of my favorite workshop challenges involved a USV (Uncrewed Surface Vehicle),鈥� said McCotter. 鈥淭his boat had a computer as the controller. We were able to use real-world scanning tools such as Nessus to see what vulnerable services and operating systems were on the vehicle.”
A final challenge for McCotter and members of his team was a deep dive into NMEA 0183, a protocol used to connect onboard components.听
McCotter explains that听encryption is an important听and much-needed听part听of听future听protocols听needed for听security in the maritime industry.听听
鈥淎 lot of what we learned in cryptography…听We’ve听been able to figure out how future听and current encryption听technologies work,鈥澨齢e said.听
McCotter enjoyed getting to meet and work with students ranging from freshmen to those in doctoral programs. A highlight was working with marine cybersecurity expert Gary Kessler, pictured above at left, as he provided insights into maritime industry technology. With Kessler鈥檚 guidance, they learned how to sniff network traffic and execute a replay attack against an MFD (Multifunctional Display). 听
鈥淚t was听a great experience听to see what packets a real GPS sensor sent and then create our own packets to send鈥痶o the display. In the end, we were able to make a moving ship that was moving across the display at whatever speed we specified,鈥澨齭aid McCotter,听pictured above typing into a laptop. 鈥淚n the听end听I learned a lot about large vulnerabilities that are still used in a large majority of marine systems today.鈥�听
鈥�This is one of the incredible examples of our students taking everything they learn and experience within our classes and competitions and applying it in the real world to make our world safer and more secure,鈥澨齭aid听AU听Cybersecurity Professor Brandon Grech.听
鈥�I’m听hoping to get involved in a little bit more marine cybersecurity research鈥攎ore听specifically, study the specific protocols that boats use to communicate,”听said,听McCotter, who is听thinking about getting a master’s degree in cybersecurity engineering.听