Why Maritime OT Security Is Different

Operational Constraints

Vessels cannot be patched at will. A patch that requires a reboot of a PMS or ECDIS mid-voyage is not an option — vulnerability management timelines are measured in port calls, not hours.

📡

Remote Attack Surface

Modern vessels run VSAT internet for crew welfare, remote monitoring, and fuel optimisation. Every connected system is potentially reachable from shore. OT networks that were once air-gapped no longer are.

⏱️

Regulatory Timeline

IMO Resolution MSC-FAL.1/Circ.3 required cyber risk management in ISM systems from January 2021. IACS UR E26 and E27 apply to newbuilds from July 2024. Compliance requires evidence of vulnerability monitoring.

Regulatory Compliance Context

IMO MSC-FAL.1/Circ.3 (2021)

Requires that cyber risks are addressed in ships' Safety Management Systems (SMS) by the first annual verification after 1 January 2021. This includes identifying critical OT systems, assessing vulnerabilities, and implementing detection and response measures. Vulnerability monitoring tools like OTWarden provide the evidence trail auditors expect.

IACS UR E26 (July 2024 Newbuilds)

IACS Unified Requirement E26 applies to ships contracted for construction on or after 1 July 2024. It requires owners to maintain an inventory of onboard OT/IT systems and ensure known vulnerabilities are identified and managed — directly addressed by OTWarden's watchlist alerts and asset inventory. IACS UR E27 is a separate requirement aimed at equipment manufacturers, not vessel operators.

Live Advisory Data — Maritime Vendors

Current advisory counts from CISA ICS-CERT and vendor feeds for the platform vendors found inside maritime OT systems. Data updates continuously.

Kongsberg
0
advisories · worst: LOW
Wärtsilä
0
advisories · worst: LOW
ABB
57
advisories · worst: CRITICAL
Siemens
1962
advisories · worst: CRITICAL
Rockwell Automation
234
advisories · worst: CRITICAL
Yokogawa
30
advisories · worst: CRITICAL
GE
24
advisories · worst: CRITICAL
Schneider Electric
140
advisories · worst: CRITICAL

Recent Critical & High Advisories

HIGH
Siemens SICAM 8 Products
Siemens · CVSS 7.5
2026-04-02
HIGH
Schneider Electric EcoStruxure (Update D)
Schneider Electric · CVSS 7.8
2026-04-02
HIGH 2026-03-26
HIGH 2026-03-24
CRITICAL
"Schneider Electric Plant iT/Brewmaxx"
Schneider Electric · CVSS 10.0
2026-03-24
How Maritime OT Coverage Actually Works

Why Kongsberg and Wärtsilä Have No CISA Advisories — And Why That's Not the Whole Story

Kongsberg Maritime and Wärtsilä handle security vulnerabilities through private customer channels rather than public advisory databases. CISA has never published an ICS-CERT advisory for either vendor — and they're not alone among maritime OT suppliers in operating this way. OTWarden monitors the NVD directly for any CVEs that do surface against their products, but these are rare.

The real attack surface on a vessel running K-Chief or UNIC isn't a "Kongsberg CVE" — it's the underlying infrastructure those systems are built on:

Windows HMI workstations

PMS and SCADA HMIs run Windows — often unpatched for months due to vendor qualification delays. Standard Microsoft CVEs apply.

Siemens SIMATIC PLCs

Generator management, switchboard control, and propulsion PLCs in K-Chief and UNIC installations frequently use Siemens S7 hardware.

Modbus TCP & EtherNet/IP

The communications protocols connecting sensors, actuators, and controllers have known DoS and authentication vulnerabilities.

ABB, Yokogawa, Rockwell

Integrated vessel automation systems draw on multiple platform vendors — all of which publish advisories through CISA.

When CISA publishes an advisory for Siemens SIMATIC S7-1500 — the same controller family running generator management logic on many K-Chief installations — OTWarden alerts you. That's the coverage that matters. We also monitor NVD directly for any Kongsberg and Wärtsilä CVEs that do get publicly disclosed, so nothing slips through.

Why OTWarden for Maritime OT

Filtered to your fleet

Only alerts for vendors relevant to your vessel — Siemens, ABB, Yokogawa, Rockwell, and the platform layers that maritime OT systems are built on. Plus direct NVD monitoring for Kongsberg and Wärtsilä. No noise from unrelated industries.

Compliance evidence trail

Every alert is logged with timestamp, CVE IDs, CVSS score, and remediation steps. Export your alert history as a PDF audit report for ISM auditors.

Works inside the SMS

OTWarden integrates into your Safety Management System as an automated vulnerability monitoring process. No expensive Dragos or Claroty licence required.

Immediate value on sign-up

When you add your first vendor, we retroactively match against 30 days of advisories — so you see what you might have already missed.

Built by a Maritime Engineer
"I spent years commissioning ships — dealing with PMS fault cascades, PLC resets mid-sea, and ECDIS bugs that turned into safety incidents. When I started investigating the root causes, I kept finding unpatched CVEs that had been sitting in the advisory databases for months. The vendors published the fixes. Nobody was watching for them."
— Nicki Rough, Founder · Commissioning Engineer
Start Monitoring Your Fleet

Free 14-day trial — no card required

Add the platform vendors inside your vessel — Siemens, ABB, Yokogawa, Rockwell — and receive alerts from CISA, vendor feeds, and NVD the moment a relevant advisory is published.

Start Free Trial →
Or view pricing · browse all vendors