INSYST: Inherent cybersecurity through system thinking
Funded by: TKI HTSM, SP Veiligheid
Period: October 2025 - September 2027
Partners: TNO, Damen Naval, RH Marine
Contact:
Description:
In recent years we have seen extensive deployment of autonomous and robotic systems, not the least in the Russo-Ukrainian war. In the maritime sector, vessels will be increasingly equipped with autonomous capabilities. Whereas cybersecurity is important for all systems with digital components, this holds in particular for autonomous systems. These will typically operate in conditions without continuous human control, raising the bar for trustworthy, fail-secure operation. The cybersecurity community acknowledges that for systems to be truly cyber-secure, cybersecurity should be an integral element incorporated in the design and engineering processes. This, however, requires a fundamental transition from the current practice where cybersecurity is an afterthought, bolted onto systems after they have been shipped and taken into operation.
The goal of INSYST is to address the following (industrial/IO) research questions: Which novel technologies can enable and facilitate the incorporation of cybersecurity in the design and engineering of autonomous (maritime) systems? How can actual integration of cybersecurity in these early lifecycle stages be accomplished and which adaptations are required on the process level? INSYST’s technology innovation will focus on (1) transforming software testing into an automated, low-effort process seamlessly integrated in the system engineering process; (2) showcasing a risk-based approach and technology to assess and prioritise vulnerabilities in the specific context of maritime autonomous vessels.