The researchers, part of Trend Micro's Forward Looking Threat team along with an independent researcher, said they've figured out how to "spoof" information going from a ship's Automatic Identification System (AIS) to the online tracking services -- meaning on a whim they can change not only the vessel's location on the website's map, but it's size, type, origin or even the cargo it's listed as carrying. The team said they can take an oil tanker sitting in the New York Harbor and drop it off the coast of North Korea or create a luxury yacht out of thin air, all just with their laptops.
The AIS is a safety feature, described by the U.S. Coast Guard as "foremost a navigational tool for collision avoidance," that is a mandatory for all ships carrying passengers and any cargo vessels over a certain size, according to the International Maritime Organization. It allows others ships, port officials and governments to track hundreds of vessels at the same time.
the thread title is like TOI...but interesting devlopement
