Naval Dome introduces new dashboard

(Posted on 14/01/19)

Maritime security specialist Naval Dome has come up with an innovative approach to managing the cyber security status of all protected systems onboard ships, allowing shipboard and shoreside staff to monitor and evaluate fleet-wide system data, even when they are offline. Until now, only crew members have been able to access a ship’s offline data sets.

The Naval Dome Dashboard collects and collates all the data captured by the company’s multi-award-winning Endpoint cyber protection system for use either at the company’s HQ – where personnel can access both online and offline shipboard data – or onboard the vessel itself, to provide the master or chief engineer with a complete picture of the ship’s cyber status.

Naval Dome CEO Itai Sela says the Naval Dome Dashboard is particularly suitable for ships fitted with multiple, complex technologies. It can be tailored to the customers’ specific needs and can be integrated with existing dashboards.

Once the Endpoint system has gathered information from navigation and machinery equipment, such as ECDIS, RADAR, MCS and other critical equipment onboard, the data is accessed via an easy-to-navigate Dashboard display on a PC.

The Naval Dome Dashboard gives an exact picture of the critical equipment status, allowing users to quickly determine the number of PC-based systems onboard each ship and which of them are protected.

A Cyber State section provides information on the number of cyber security anomalies detected (caused for example by GPS spoofing), while a Cyber Map pinpoints the geographical origin of cyber attack attempts as gathered from Naval Dome cyber data base. The Dashboard also shows operators which systems are “connected” and those that are offline, highlighting when systems were last updated.

Importantly, the Dashboard indicates if an attack is in progress, but for information purposes only as those systems protected by Naval Dome Endpoint will have been secured without requiring intervention from the crew.

If an anomaly alert is issued by the Naval Dome security system the Dashboard will enable the operator to assess how the crew reacted to the problem, pinpointing the precise location of a suspected event and detailing who was using the equipment at the time.

Sela explains that there are two ways in which to use the data. “The first is offline. As many critical systems are stand alone and accessed directly by those on the ship, it is important that head office personnel also have secure access to this information.”

When shoreside operators wish to assess the performance of critical systems, data can be uploaded from the Endpoint to Naval Dome’s secure cloud, from where it is available through the dashboard, allowing secure access to information from standalone systems.

“Use in narrow bandwidth satellite communication systems makes it a very cost-effective solution for displaying critical information, keeping the costumer online and up-to-date.”

For online use, the information available through the Dashboard enables the ship and shoreside crews to assess the cyber status of each ship and of the entire fleet, says Sela.

“Naval Dome knowhow offers multiple layers of protection and anomaly detection, the effectiveness of which has been proved by comparing systems protected by Endpoint with those which are not.

“In this way, secure use of onboard systems can be more efficiently monitored and lessons can be learned from the experience to further optimise fleet efficiency, ultimately, reducing the costs related to resolving non cyber events,” says Sela.

“The aim is to let shipowners know the cyber status of their onboard systems without having to react in any way. It’s our problem to deal with the attack. Naval Dome can deliver a very smart system that does not require any training. With just one click, shipowners can see the cyber activities of their entire fleet and control it.”