Special Issue: Topics in Maritime Cybersecurity
Target Publication: July 2025
Guest Editors
Dr. Ulku Clark
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Maritime Cybersecurity Applied Research, Technology and Education Center (MCARTEC)
Dr. Bilge Karabacak
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Maritime Cybersecurity Applied Research, Technology and Education Center (MCARTEC)
Scope of the Special Issue
This invited special issue presents a curated set of authoritative contributions addressing cybersecurity risks, resilience, and strategic dynamics across the maritime domain. The scope encompasses cyber-physical systems and digitally enabled operations within the Maritime Transportation System (MTS), including vessels, ports, terminals, offshore infrastructure, and interconnected logistics and supply chains.
The issue focuses on three tightly integrated dimensions:
- Operational Cybersecurity: Threats, vulnerabilities, and defensive practices affecting shipboard systems, port operations, navigation technologies, and maritime OT/IT convergence.
- Governance and Policy: Regulatory frameworks, standards development, risk governance models, and institutional coordination across national and international maritime stakeholders.
- Strategic and Emerging Risks: Grey-zone conflict, information warfare, AI-enabled threats, and geopolitical dimensions of maritime cyber infrastructure.
Contributions collectively emphasize decision relevance, linking technical insights to implications for policymakers, regulators, and senior operational leaders. The issue prioritizes work that advances system-level understanding, rather than isolated technical vulnerabilities, and highlights cross-cutting challenges spanning people, process, and technology.
Accepted Articles (Papers in press)
Cuts Both Ways: The Geography, Technology, and Strategy of Undersea Cable Sabotage in the Pacific
J. Vogt; N. Kollars
U.S. Naval War College
Evaluating Vessel Cyber-Attacks: Are the Risks Exaggerated or a Genuine Threat?
S. McCombie; J. Pijpker; R. Hassing
Maritime IT Security Research Group, NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences
From Cyber Defense to Information Warfare: Technical Roadmapping and Capability Gaps in Maritime Cybersecurity
K. Miller; U. Clark; B. Karabacak; H. Alamleh; E. Garces
Cameron School of Business; College of Science and Engineering, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Grey-Zone Operations at Sea: Maritime Cyber Infrastructure as an Arena for Strategic Signalling
D. M. Zorri; G. C. Kessler
Norwich University; Gary Kessler Associates
Modeling Cybersecurity Governance in the U.S. Maritime Transportation System: A Systems-Theoretic Approach to Grey-Zone Conflict
J. Greer; E. Garces; U. Clark; B. Karabacak
Congdon School, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Weaponising Trust at Sea: AI-Enabled Multi-Vector Deception in Maritime Search and Rescue
F. Ferrazza; D. Hurley-Smith; K. Mersinas
School of Computing, University of Kent; Department of Information Security, Royal Holloway, University of London
Zero Trust at Sea: Security Gains and the Risk of Operational Disruption Without Fallback Mechanisms
B. J. Croteau; C. B. Landis; A. Srinivasan
Cyber Science Department, United States Naval Academy
AUTHORS
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Keywords
Journal of Information Warfare
The definitive publication for the best and latest research and analysis on information warfare, information operations, and cyber crime. Available in traditional hard copy or online.
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