Cyber-security solutions for unmanned systems, and their use in conjunction with new technologies to advance port security and maritime domain awareness
As the use of unmanned systems, including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) and autonomous underwater vessels (AUVs) increases in the maritime realm, particularly for shipping and port and harbor security, there is an immediate need to improving the cyber-security of these systems. We discuss international and national efforts to improve maritime cyber-security for ships, and how these approaches can be adapted to unmanned systems. A migration to optical communications with Delay and Disruption Tolerant (DTN) networking protocols can provide increased communications bandwidth, resilience, and security for autonomous systems. This step in cyber-security represents an interim phase prior to a future transition to quantum communications. With secure high bandwidth communications from and between networked unmanned systems, new technologies to assist in maritime domain awareness can be used. For port and harbor security acoustic communications and detection systems for AUVs have proven problematic, so use of optical communications methods is preferred, and use of optical scintillation to detect AUV threats is discussed. Quantum methods for unmanned systems also offer a variety of options. We discuss issues relating to the use of quantum magnetometers and quantum gravimeters for the detection of AUVs and benthic devices from airborne systems, and the use of quantum optical methods such as ‘ghost imaging’ to image materials in turbid or turbulent waters. Finally, we discuss how the use of Fluid Lensing and MiDAR optical methods permit concurrent optical imaging and communication from submarine to surface or airborne assets, and how quantum computing has been used to process data from such systems.