News

MariCybERA Team #14 Mahtab Shahin November 2024

Mahtab Shahin is a Postdoctoral Researcher based in Tallinn, Estonia, with a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Tallinn University of Technology. Her research focuses on association rule mining for big data and cloud technology. She holds an M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Computer Engineering from Azad University of Najafabad and Isfahan, Iran. Read more…

Welcome to Estonian Maritime Academy
Aybars Oruç November 2024

I have 10 years of experience in the maritime industry, encompassing both seafaring and office roles. My journey began in maritime high school, which naturally shaped my career path. Alongside this, I developed a personal interest in cybersecurity during my high school years. Read more…

Insights from the SORTA Conference November 2024

At the recent SORTA Conference in Zadar, Croatia, our Waterways Safety Management researcher Ahmed Nasr and Professor Pentti Kujala presented groundbreaking insights into maritime cybersecurity with their paper, “Exploring Historical Maritime Cyber-Attacks and Introducing Maritime Security Operations Center (M-SOC) as a Solution to Mitigate Them.” Read more…

Meeting with National University “Odessa Maritime Academy” November 2024

On behalf of TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy and MariCybERA, our R&D Director, Kristel Toom, recently met with Professor Emeritus Olav Aarna and Vadym Zakharchenko from the National University “Odessa Maritime Academy.”
Together, they explored potential collaborations and partnership opportunities in maritime education and research. Read more…

Engaging in Maritime Cybersecurity at MTEC-ICMASS 2024 in Trondheim November 2024

On October 29-30, 2024, Prof. Sanja Bauk and Yiğit Gülmez participated in the 6th MTEC-ICMASS conference organized by Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and SINTEF in beautiful Trondheim, Norway. Read more…

Special recognition of “Aasta Purjede Puhuja” November 2024
Dan Heering received a special recognition at TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy’s 105th anniversary celebration! He was awarded the title of “Aasta Purjede Puhuja” – “The Wind in Our Sails of the Year”. Read more…

Visit to NTNU’s CISaR and SFI-NORCICS October 2024
On 28 October 2024, Prof. Sanja Bauk and Yigit Gülmez had the pleasure of visiting the Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISaR) research group and SFI-NORCICS at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Gjøvik. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #13 Saeed Rahimpour October 2024

Saeed Rahimpour is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Estonian Maritime Academy and a skilled Power Electronics Engineer with over 8 years of experience in the field. Read about the experience he brings to MariCybERA project and his role in it here in the article.

Days of Scientific Diaspora in Podgorica October 2024
Sanja Bauk had the pleasure of presenting her research on maritime digital transformation and cybersecurity at the Days of Scientific Diaspora in Podgorica, Montenegro, on October 18-19, 2024. Read more…

Welcome to Estonian Maritime Academy
Mahtab Shahin October 2024

I am currently based in Tallinn, Estonia. I hold a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia, where I specialized in efficient and effective association rule mining on big data and cloud technology. Prior to this, I completed my M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Computer Engineering at Azad University of Najafabad and Isfahan, Iran, respectively​. Read more…

Welcome to Estonian Maritime Academy
Saeed Rahimpour October 2024

I am from Iran and hold a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), Estonia. My educational journey also includes an MSc in Electrical Engineering from Guilan University and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from Zanjan University, both in Iran. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #12 Muhammed Erbas October 2024

Muhammed Erbas is an early-stage researcher holding a Master’s in Cybersecurity from TalTech and the University of Tartu. Read about the experience he brings to MariCybERA project and his role in it here in the article.

Article in Teejuht by Dan Heering October 2024

We’re excited to share that in the autumn edition of Teejuht, Transpordiamet’s autumn digital magazine, Dan Heering delves into a critical topic: “Cyber hygiene is more important than ever in the maritime sector”. He discusses the surge in cybercrime within the shipping industry, emphasizing the importance of training employees to ensure cybersecurity. Read more…

Welcome to Estonian Maritime Academy
Muhammed Erbas October 2024

I am from Turkiye, and I hold a master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Tallinn University of Technology and the University of Tartu. Before that, I completed a bachelor’s degree in Maritime Transportation and Management Engineering. These educational experiences have provided a strong foundation for my current work in maritime cybersecurity. Read more…

On 2 October 2024, we had the pleasure and honor of meeting our esteemed colleagues from the Ministry of Defence of Singapore, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and iTrust SUTD at TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy! Read more…

On 1st October, Ülemiste City hosted EduFest, where Dan Heering shared invaluable insights on safeguarding both individuals and businesses from cyber-attacks. He gave an interesting talk on maritime cybersecurity, personal cyber hygiene, and behavioral change. Read more…

Prof. Sanja Bauk proudly presented the MariCybERA project during the plenary session of the 16th Information Technology for e-Education (ITeO) Conference, organized by Pan-European University APEIRON in Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, on 27 September 2024. Read more…

The ATHENA Project partners gathered in Tallinn from 2-5 September for a productive and insightful series of discussions! We had the opportunity to test a virtual environment for cybersecurity training with academy students, bringing hands-on experience to the next generation of experts. Read more…

This week, our MariCybERA team had the fantastic opportunity to meet with representatives from the Singapore Institute of Technology at TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy! It was a pleasure to connect with Arthur Poh, Yong-Lim Foo and Shawn Wee from SIT, and our talented team members from TalTech: Prof. Sanja Bauk, Kristel Toom, Vanessa Roberts, Dan Heering, Yigit Gülmez, Leonidas Tsiopoulos, and Kristi Treffner. Read more…

We had an opportunity to host Jarkko Paavola and his dynamic research team from Turku University of Applied Sciences!
From the MariCybERA team, Prof. Sanja Bauk delivered an overview of our achievements, while Dan Heering and Aleksei Šiganov showcased the innovations at our cyberlab. Read more…

CYBERS podcast KÜBERCAST #040 August 2024

Join host Ronnie Jaanhold from CYBERS podcast KÜBERCAST as he delves into the intricate world of maritime cybersecurity with experts Dan Heering and Prof. Sanja Bauk from TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy. Access podcast here…

In July 12th the annual meeting of the Baltic Branch of the Nautical Institute took place in TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy. Among others MariCybERA team member Dan Heering made a presentation about Cyber Security at Sea and Onshore. Read more…

Citadel Summer School July 2024

We were delighted to host students from The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, on July 23rd!
The students attended insightful lectures on Cyber Security and Maritime by Prof. Sanja Bauk and Ship Systems and Cyber Security by Prof. Pentti Kujala.
Read more…

We are thrilled to share highlights from the 10th International Conference on Maritime Transport (MT’24) in 2024: Senior Researcher Andres Udal from TalTech School of Information Technologies delivered an insightful talk on “Modelling the trajectory tracking accuracy of an autonomous catamaran patrol vessel under different positional data disturbance conditions.” Read more…

Maritime Transport and Cybersecurity forum in Malta June 2024

Prof. Sanja Bauk had the honour and pleasure of participating in the interdisciplinary forum on “Maritime Transport and Cybersecurity” on June 24, 2024, at the University of Malta (Valletta Campus).
She expressed her gratitude to the organisers, Prof. Alessandro Mantelero Prof. Joe Cannataci, as well as the speakers, Brig. Clinton O’Neill, Dr. Ann Fenech, and Mr. Alessandro Politi.
Read more…

MariCybERA Newsletter Nr 1, 2024 June 2024
We have released our first newsletter covering MariCybERA activites from January to June 2024.
Access the newsletter from here.

Wärtsilä Simulation User Seminar June 2024
MariCybERA team is excited to share the ongoing efforts to advance our project with innovative research ideas, such as creating digital twins of marine vessels for cyber attack vulnerability analysis.
Recently, Yiğit Gülmez and Leonidas Tsiopoulos attended the Wärtsilä Marine Simulation User Seminar at Solent University & Warsash Maritime School, in Southampton, UK on June 17–19, 2024. Read more…

8th Black Sea Cybersecurity Conference June 2024
Prof. Sanja Bauk has taken part in the 8th Black Sea Cybersecurity Conference, Cybersecurity Synergies in a Digitalized World, which took place in Constanta, Romania, on June 17–19, 2024.
In her keynote address, she discussed the Estonian perspective on the EU cybersecurity landscape. Additionally, she participated as a panellist in the session “Cyber resilience across borders – lessons from international cyber incidents”. Read more…

Estonian Shipping Yearbook 2024 June 2024
Prof. Sanja Bauk, Yiğit Gülmez and Dan Heering published an article in 2024 Estonian Shipping Yearbook about Satellite Navigation Systems’ Vulnerabilities and Alternative Solutions. The article is printed in Estonian with an English Summary. We have the article here on our MariCybERA homepage both in English and Estonian.
The Estonian Shipping Yearbook is a regular collection of articles published since 1995. The Yearbook is published by the Estonian Seamen’s Association, compiled by Enn Kreem.

Mediterranean Conference on Embedded Computing June 2024
Prof. Sanja Bauk proudly represented MariCybERA at the Mediterranean Conference on Embedded Computing (MECO) in Budva, June 11-14, 2024. She presented the paper “Simulating a cyber-attack on an autonomous sea surface vessel’s rudder controller,” co-authored with Igor Astrov. Read more…

Consortium meeting in Helsinki June 2024
MariCybERA project team is actively working on developing new research project proposals in maritime cybersecurity. Recently, our team members Leonidas Tsiopoulos and Yiğit Gülmez participated in a consortium meeting at ABB facilities in Helsinki. The meeting brought together researchers from TalTech, other universities, and companies, fostering collaboration and innovation in this critical field.

Visit from NTNU May 2024
We were honored to host our distinguished colleagues from Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) at MariCybERA on May 27-28, 2024. In-person, we welcomed Vasileios Gkioulos and Marie Haugli-Sandvik, while Ahmed Amro joined us online. Representing MariCybERA were Ric Lugo, PhD, Sanja Bauk, Gabor Visky, Aleksei Šiganov, Leonidas Tsiopoulos, Dan Heering, Yiğit Gülmez, and Kristi Treffner. Read more…

Visit to ABB Hamina factory May 2024
On May 23rd Sanja Bauk, Yiğit Gülmez, Dan Heering, Leonidas Tsiopoulos, Shaymaa Mamdouh Khalil, and Aleksei Šiganov from MariCybERA ERA Chair had a wonderful opportunity to visit the ABB Hamina factory in Finland. Having a fantastic time exploring ABB’s state-of-the-art facilities and discussing innovative partnership opportunities. Read more…

Cyberalias’ game English version May 2024

In our quest to decode the cybersecurity language while making the process of learning fun, we’ve teamed up with Cyberalias to create a card game. It’s all about demystifying the complexities of cybersecurity while having a blast!
Read more…

TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI), Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Estonian Foundation CR14 to collaborate on maritime cybersecurity research and development activities. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #11 Gábor Visky April 2024

Gábor Visky is an early-stage researcher at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), with expertise in the cyber security of ships’ operational technologies. Read about the experience he brings to MariCybERA project and his role in it here in the article.

MariCybERA Team #10 Risto Vaarandi March 2024

Get to know Risto Vaarandi, Ph.D., who is working as a security monitoring researcher under MariCybERA project.
Read more…

Dan Heering and Ricardo Lugo delivered an insightful cyber security lecture to approximately 60 maritime specialists from the Estonian Transport Administration, captivating audience with their expertise and knowledge. The organizers expressed their satisfaction and hinted at future collaborations, indicating a keen interest in additional practical training sessions.

On March 21, 2024, XAMK hosted its second complimentary information and cyber security event in Kotka. This time, the focus centered on dissecting the anatomy of a cyber crisis. Ricardo Lugo, a member of the MariCybERA team, delivered a compelling presentation titled “Cyber Crisis and Resiliency: Individual, Social, and Organizational Perspectives.” The webcast was followed by more than 500 participants and more than 150 on site.

MariCybERA Team #9 Leonidas Tsiopoulos March 2024

The expertise and knowledge of Leonidas Tsiopoulos will definitely complement and add value to the MariCybERA project. Read about his thoughts and contribution in the article here. 

2nd review meeting of MariCybERA project March 2024
In the first half of March we had our 2nd review and evaluation meeting of the MariCybERA project. It was nice to reflect on the job done so far and receive useful feedback and suggestions for the forthcoming endeavours.

MariCybERA Team #8 Igor AstrovFebruary 2024

Join us to welcome Igor Astrov to our team! His competence, knowledge and experience will keep MariCybERA project on the right course. Igor Astrov received his PhD degree from Tallinn University of Technology where he is working as a Senior Researcher. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #7 Alvar Kurrel February 2024

Alvar Kurrel has been a great support of our MariCybERA team from the very beginning. He has an impressive experience in managing project, organizing support and helping with strategic planning. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #6 Pentti Kujala January 2024

We are welcoming Prof. Pentti Kujala to our team!
Pentti has been working on the safety of ships both in open water and on ice more than 40 years. He joined the MariCybERA team in the end of 2023. Read more…

We were happy to host 28 students from the CYBERUS Erasmus Mundus Cybersecurity Joint Master Programme on January 16th. The students attended lectures focusing on the digitalization and cybersecurity in the shipping sector by our Prof. Sanja Bauk, Dan Heering and Yigit Gülmez. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #5 Yiğit Gülmez January 2024

Welcoming the New Team Member!
Join us in extending a warm welcome to our Postdoctoral Researcher, Yiğit Gülmez!
Get to Know Yiğit, a marine engineer with a Ph.D., specializing in merging academic research with hands-on ship operations. Read more…

Article in Meremees December 2023

Our ERA Chair holder Prof. Sanja Bauk had an interview with Estonian maritime magazine Meremees about Balancing Technology and Cybersecurity in the Maritime Sector: Setting Ethics and Welfare First. Read more…

New People in TalTech: Pentti Kujala October 2023

Welcome Prof. Pentti Kujala to TalTech and get to know him through this short Q&A with him in Mente et Manu.

New People in TalTech: Sanja Bauk October 2023

Get to know Prof. Sanja Bauk and read the Q&A with her from Mente et Manu.

Maritime Cybersecurity Partnership Seminar took place on 21-22 August 2023 at the Estonian Maritime Academy and TalTech Engineering Department. This collaborative event has been jointly organized by XAMK, Aalto University, Merikotka Research Centre, TalTech CyberCentre and the Maritime Cybersecurity Centre of the Estonian Maritime Academy. Read more…

Join us to welcome Prof. Sanja Bauk, the new ERA Chair Holder of Maritime Cybersecurity (MariCybERA) at the Estonian Maritime Academy, Tallinn University of Technology. For the past five years she held the role of Associate Professor at Durban University of Technology in South Africa, where her passionate research and engaging lectures in Maritime Electronic Navigation, Logistics, and Research Methodology left a lasting impact. Read more…

Article in Meremees January 2023

NATO must be able to defend all areas from cyber-attacks including ships, because NATO member countries have a large combined fleet and a long maritime border. Our Early-Stage Researcher at TalTech Gabor Visky talks about the research he conducted at NATO CCDCOE. Read more…

MariCybERA Team #2 Olaf Maennel September 2022

Please join us to welcome Olaf Maennel, PI of our ERA Chair project! Olaf has graduated with a PhD in computer science from Technical University of Munich. Since July 2014 he is a full Professor for Cyber-Security at the TalTech Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security. Read more…

Citadel Summer School July 2022

TalTech Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security and TalTech Summer Schools have had the pleasure of hosting a group of students from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, 16-29.07.22.

13.06.2022 the 7th Interdisciplinary Cyber Research Conference (ICR2022) was organised with the support of TalTech Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security.
The keynote speakers were Dr Andrew J. Grotto from Stanford University with his talk titled Achieving Allied Resilience on Semiconductors and Prof Kavé Salamatian from Tallinn University of Technology on the topic An Upward Multidisciplinary Journey in Cyber Studies. Read more…

Please join us to welcome Kave Salamatian, our ERA Chair holder! He has graduated with a PhD in Computer Science in 1998 from Paris-Sud University (Paris XI). The first role in the project is to setup the Centre for Maritime Cyber Security at TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology and to integrate the research capabilities from TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy and TalTech Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security. Read more…

TalTech will focus on maritime cybersecurity partly because Estonia is located next to the Baltic Sea. Rain Ottis, the head of TalTech’s Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security sees that it is important for Estonians to make sure that all the sailors, ships, port facilities, and supply chains are safe. Read more…

Estonia is a seabound country with a coastline of nearly 3,800 kilometers, which means the shipping companies, ports, and vessels it relies on are vulnerable to cyberattacks by criminals and terrorists. The country however also has a deep bench of IT talent, much of which is entrenched at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech). Read more…