COONTEC PRESS RELEASE

COONTEC Unveils National R&D Demonstration for Smart Ship Cybersecurity

• Real attacks injected into two virtual vessels in a physical-equipment environment, demonstrating the full process from detection and response to audit evidence
• Cyber Resilience Index (CRI) calculation and a four-level maturity model demonstrated as an evaluation framework
• Key stakeholders from classification societies, shipyards, equipment suppliers, and shipping companies attended

August 26, 2026 – COONTEC announced that it held a third-year demonstration briefing on August 19 at its Pangyo headquarters for the national R&D project ‘Development of Core Security Technologies for Compliance with International Smart Ship Regulations,’ supported by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT and IITP. Representatives from classification societies, shipyards, equipment suppliers, shipping companies, and other participating organizations attended the event.

National R&D Demonstration Conducted in a Realistic Lab Environment

The demonstration validated project outcomes for compliance with IACS Unified Requirements UR E26 and E27 in a physical-equipment environment. COONTEC configured two virtual vessels with network structures equivalent to actual ships and injected real attacks including malware infiltration, GPS jamming and spoofing, unauthorized remote access, and DDoS attacks. The full process—from detection and response to accumulation of inspection evidence—was demonstrated on site.

The cyber resilience evaluation model developed through the project calculates a vessel’s resilience level as a Cyber Resilience Index (CRI) and evaluates it using a maturity model. The platform can simulate the entire certification lifecycle, from application and certificate issuance to post-certification management, allowing shipowners and shipyards to identify requirements for a target level in advance. It also supports UR E27 certification procedures for shipboard cyber systems (CBS) through checklists and evidence management.

KR-CRP (Cyber Resilience Platform), a resilience evaluation model and certification platform jointly developed with Korean Register

Research Outcomes Connected to Commercial Platforms

The project results are being incorporated into TeraGRID Maritime (TGM), COONTEC’s integrated maritime cyber resilience platform; KR-CRP, jointly developed with Korean Register; and KR-Tester, a shipboard cybersecurity testing tool.

Security events detected in real time on a vessel are automatically mapped to the implementation status of international regulatory requirements and linked to the documents and evidence required for classification inspections. COONTEC is conducting PoC validations with major domestic shipping companies and preparing for an official launch.

Demonstration of TGM, an integrated maritime cyber resilience solution

This research was conducted with funding from the Ministry of Science and ICT and support from IITP. (RS-2024-00400955)

Hyukjun Bang, CEO of COONTEC, said, “The goal of this project is to address regulatory compliance through data and actual measurement rather than documentation alone. Based on demonstration results spanning design, operation, and inspection, we will help raise the cyber resilience level of Korea’s shipbuilding and maritime industries.”