DEF CON 33 - How Computers Kill People: Marine Systems - Michael DeVolld & Austin Reid
Source: YouTube · DEFCONConference · published Oct 10, 2025 · 21:06
The maritime industry faces significant cybersecurity risks from poor software quality and engineering practices that can cause real physical harm to ships and critical infrastructure 0:07.
Key Takeaways:
• Maritime systems are increasingly computerized, with software embedded in every critical system from navigation to engine controls 4:12
• The shift from mechanical to computerized systems has made vessels "smart but hackable" rather than "dumb but safe" 5:12
• A simulation demonstrated how a simple set point manipulation in a ship's cooling system could cause a complete blackout in less than 90 seconds 13:49
• Historical examples include a Navy ship left dead in water due to a divide-by-zero error and Boeing aircraft grounded by software bugs 7:27
• The maritime industry risks "initification" as emerging technologies are layered on legacy systems without proper safeguards 18:02
The maritime sector must address software quality issues before they lead to catastrophic failures at sea.
Sources:
- 0:07 Introduction to real-world risks in transportation
- 4:12 Explanation of computerization in ship systems
- 5:12 Contrast between mechanical and computerized systems
- 7:27 Examples of historical software failures
- 13:49 Simulation showing how software errors cause ship blackouts
- 18:02 Discussion of risks with emerging technolog
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First 800 characters of the transcript
Uh good morning. Welcome to our talk. Uh if you're expecting a talk about sci-fi robots with lasers, it's the wrong talk. We're talking about real world systems here, ships, planes, cars, where one bad line of code can cause real physical harm. And that in our world, in the transportation world, critical infrastructure, that's not future risk. It's already here. So yeah, the title's a little clickbait, but the problem is real. When most people think of cyber threats, they're think hackers, ransomware, fishing, and those are real concerns. But in the maritime industry, there's a Trojan horse creeping that doesn't get enough attention. That's software quality and engineering practice. So in maritime, we're racing towards more automation, more digitalization, more connected systems and ships …