Navigating Cybersecurity on Luxury Yachts: Staying Safe at Sea
Author: Luke Smyth
Luxury yachts today are floating smart homes - sleek, sophisticated, and deeply connected. From navigation systems to entertainment suites, modern yachts are packed with technology that enhances comfort, safety, and convenience. But with this connectivity comes a growing need for robust cybersecurity.
Elliot Bishop – a Partner in the law firm Bargate Murray who specialise in marine and aviation – comments “digital vulnerability can be the catalyst for significant legal and financial turmoil in the yachting industry. Owners and Managers would be well advised to constantly re-evaluate all aspects of their connectivity protocols to properly safeguard against such costly disruptions.”
Whether docked at a port or cruising in open waters, yacht owners and their crews must understand the cybersecurity risks and design their onboard networks to protect against them.
The Connected Reality of Yachts
Yachts are not fundamentally different from other smart environments. They rely on a complex web of interconnected systems, including:
Navigation and propulsion controls
Satellite communications
Internet access for personal and business use
Lifestyle systems like smart TVs, music systems, and voice assistants
Security systems such as CCTV and motion sensors
Many onboard systems share the same network infrastructure, which can pose significant security risks if not properly segmented.
For example, placing a smart speaker on the same network as your navigation or charting systems could be dangerous. If an entertainment device is compromised, it could serve as an entry point to more sensitive and mission-critical systems, potentially jeopardising the safety and operation of the vessel.
Connectivity Challenges: Ports vs. Open Sea
When docked at a port, yachts typically connect to local Wi-Fi networks. While convenient, these networks can be insecure or poorly monitored. It's essential to treat port Wi-Fi like any public network - use VPNs, avoid sensitive transactions, and ensure firewalls are active.
At sea, connectivity shifts to satellite data links. Services like Starlink offer high-speed internet offshore, making it possible to stream, bank, and communicate as if you were on land. However, satellite connections still have bandwidth limitations, and prioritising traffic becomes crucial. Critical systems should always have reserved bandwidth to ensure uninterrupted operation.
Understanding Your Systems: What’s Critical?
Cybersecurity begins with knowing what systems are onboard and categorising them by importance. This can include systems that are:
Critical to Life and Safety
These include navigation, engine control, and thrust systems. A breach here could endanger lives and the vessel itself.
Critical to You as a User
Internet access for banking, communication, and remote work falls into this category. A compromised connection could lead to financial loss or identity theft.
Lifestyle Systems
These include music, TV, smart lighting, and autonomous features. While not life-threatening, they can still be exploited to invade privacy or disrupt your experience.
Designing your onboard network with these categories in mind allows for better segmentation and protection. For example, placing lifestyle systems on a separate VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) ensures that even if one device is compromised, it doesn’t affect navigation or communications.
The IoT Risk: Smart Devices and Lifestyle Tech
Internet of Things (IoT) devices are increasingly common on yachts - from smart thermostats to voice-controlled assistants. While they offer convenience, they also introduce risk. Many IoT devices have weak default passwords, outdated firmware, or insecure communication protocols. Even seemingly harmless devices like smart TVs or speakers can be entry points for cybercriminals if left unsecured.
To mitigate these risks:
Change default credentials immediately
Regularly update firmware
Segment IoT devices from critical systems
Monitor network traffic for unusual activity
Piracy in the Digital Age: Tracking and Location Risks
Physical piracy is a known threat, but digital piracy is emerging as a serious concern at sea. Websites like VesselFinder.com publicly display the location of many vessels, including luxury yachts. While useful for maritime logistics, this transparency can be exploited by bad actors to track high-value targets.
Being aware of how visible your yacht is online is a key step in protecting it. To reduce exposure consider:
Disabling public tracking where possible
Using anonymised AIS (Automatic Identification System) data
Limiting sharing of locations on social media
The Human Factor: Crew and Insider Threats
Cybersecurity isn’t just about firewalls and encryption - it’s also about people. Crew members often use personal devices onboard, and their behaviour can inadvertently introduce risks for you and your family. Watching TikTok videos, downloading apps, or connecting to unsecured networks can expose the yacht’s systems.
Training is a vital part of any yacht’s cybersecurity strategy. Crew members should be clearly informed about which onboard networks are safe to use and which are reserved for critical systems. They need to be able to recognise phishing attempts and other forms of social engineering that could compromise the vessel’s security.
Understanding why certain apps or online behaviours - such as downloading unknown software or using unsecured websites - pose risks is essential. Just as important is knowing how to report suspicious activity promptly and responsibly, so that potential threats can be addressed before they escalate. Empowering the crew with this knowledge helps create a culture of awareness and accountability, reducing the likelihood of accidental breaches and strengthening the yacht’s overall security posture.
Building a Resilient Cybersecurity Strategy
Cybersecurity on a yacht isn’t just a technical concern - it’s a fundamental part of protecting your lifestyle, privacy, and safety at sea. A strong strategy begins with network segmentation, ensuring that critical systems like navigation and propulsion are isolated from less essential devices such as smart TVs or voice assistants. This separation helps prevent a breach in one area from cascading into others.
Next, enforce access controls and multi-factor authentication to limit who can interact with sensitive systems. Keep all software and firmware up to date to close off known vulnerabilities and deploy real-time monitoring tools to detect suspicious activity before it becomes a threat.
Equally important is crew awareness. Everyone onboard should be trained in basic cybersecurity hygiene - knowing which networks to use, how to spot phishing attempts, and why certain apps or behaviours could be risky. And finally, have a clear incident response plan in place. If something goes wrong, knowing how to isolate systems, preserve evidence, and recover quickly can make all the difference.
With these layers of protection, yacht owners can enjoy the freedom of the open sea without compromising on digital security.
About the author
Luke Smyth is CTO at coc00n, responsible for the technical direction of the company as well as leading the development of new and existing client services. Before coc00n he worked at GCHQ for almost a decade and developed his expertise in government-level system administration, security architecture and software development. Projects included devising cyber security solutions for critical national infrastructure and working with the NHS during COVID. He has authored best practice guidance and white papers on behalf of the National Cyber Security Centre – the UK’s technical authority.
About coc00n
coc00n provides personal device protection for high value and high risk individuals at a level previously only available to those under government protection. Contact us to find out more.