Honeywell Report: 87% of Maritime Orgs Hit By Cyberattacks

Executive Summary

A new benchmark report from Honeywell paints a stark picture of the cybersecurity posture within the global maritime industry. The 2026 Operational Technology (OT) Cybersecurity Benchmark Report found that an alarming 87% of maritime organizations surveyed experienced at least one significant OT cybersecurity incident in the last 12 months. The report exposes critical deficiencies in fundamental security practices, including asset management and security monitoring, which are leading to significant operational downtime and financial losses. As the maritime sector becomes more digitized and connected, these security gaps represent a major risk to global trade and supply chains.

Threat Overview

The Honeywell report, based on a survey of over 600 leaders across critical infrastructure sectors, highlights a crisis of cybersecurity maturity in the maritime industry. The findings indicate that the sector is both heavily targeted and poorly defended.

Key Findings for the Maritime Sector:

• Incident Rate: 87% of organizations suffered at least one significant OT cyber incident in the past year.
• Asset Inventory: Only 21% have a complete inventory of their OT assets. This means nearly 80% of organizations do not have a full understanding of what they need to protect.
• Security Monitoring: Only one-third (33%) have integrated their OT systems into a centralized Security Operations Center (SOC), and a mere 20% continuously monitor their connected IoT equipment for threats.

This lack of visibility and monitoring capability is a critical failure, as defenders cannot protect what they cannot see.

Technical Analysis

The challenges identified in the report are not about sophisticated zero-day attacks but about a failure to implement foundational cybersecurity controls in an OT environment.

• Lack of Asset Inventory (M1016 - Vulnerability Scanning): Without a complete asset inventory, it is impossible to implement a patch management program, identify unauthorized devices, or understand the attack surface. This is the first and most fundamental step in any security program.
• Poor Segmentation and Monitoring (M1030 - Network Segmentation): The low rate of SOC integration means that IT security teams have little to no visibility into the OT network. This IT/OT convergence gap allows threats to move undetected between the two environments. The lack of continuous IoT monitoring is particularly concerning as the use of satellite-connected devices expands the attack surface beyond the physical confines of the vessel.
• Increased Connectivity: The growing use of IoT and satellite communications in maritime operations, while improving efficiency, also exposes legacy OT systems—which were often designed without security in mind—to the public internet and new attack vectors.

Impact Assessment

The consequences of these security failures are tangible and severe.

• Operational Downtime: The report found that major OT incidents caused an average of 16.2 hours of downtime. For a large shipping vessel or port, this level of disruption can have massive logistical and financial knock-on effects.
• Financial Losses: In the most severe cases, Honeywell estimated that downtime could cost up to $500,000 per hour. This includes lost revenue, repair costs, and potential fines.
• Supply Chain Disruption: The maritime industry is the backbone of global trade. A significant cyberattack on a major port or shipping line, like the NotPetya attack on Maersk in 2017, can cause widespread disruption to global supply chains.
• Physical Safety: In an OT environment, a cyberattack can have physical consequences, potentially affecting a ship's navigation, propulsion, or safety systems, endangering the crew and the environment.

These findings are consistent with other reports, such as one from NCC Group, which identified the industrial sector as the most targeted by ransomware in August 2026.

IOCs — Directly from Articles

This article is a summary of a report and does not contain specific Indicators of Compromise.

Cyber Observables — Hunting Hints

For maritime organizations looking to improve their security posture, hunting should start with gaining visibility:

Detection & Response

1. Build an Asset Inventory: The first step is to know what you have. Use a combination of passive and active discovery tools to build a comprehensive inventory of all OT assets. This is a prerequisite for any other security control.
2. Establish a Baseline: Once you have an inventory, baseline the normal network behavior of your OT environment. What devices talk to each other? What protocols do they use? This baseline is essential for anomaly detection. This is the foundation of D3FEND Network Traffic Analysis (D3-NTA).
3. Bridge the IT/OT Gap: Integrate OT security monitoring into your existing SOC. This may require specialized tools and training, but it is essential for unified visibility and response.

Mitigation

1. Network Segmentation: Implement strict segmentation between IT and OT networks. Use firewalls and unidirectional gateways to ensure that a compromise in the IT network cannot spread to critical operational systems.
2. Secure Remote Access: Implement secure, MFA-protected remote access solutions for any vendors or operators who need to manage OT systems. All access should be logged and monitored.
3. Vulnerability Management for OT: Develop a risk-based vulnerability management program tailored for OT. Since patching can be difficult, this may involve compensating controls like network isolation or virtual patching with an IPS.