Maritime Cybersecurity Under Operational Conditions: DIAMATIX at the 2nd D-NAVIO HYDRA Workshop
25-26 February 2026
The 2nd D-NAVIO HYDRA FRAMEWORK Workshop took place onboard the vessel Mare di Levante in Perama, Greece, moving maritime cybersecurity discussions into a real operational environment.
DIAMATIX participated as a project partner within the D-NAVIO consortium, a Horizon Europe initiative bringing together 16 specialized organizations across Europe to address digital risk and resilience in maritime operations.
Ivan Dragoev, Lead Security Expert at DIAMATIX, participated onsite in the working session, while the rest of our cybersecurity experts joined remotely, providing a coordinated technical contribution from the team.
From Framework to Operational Reality
Unlike traditional conference settings, this workshop was conducted inside an active vessel environment.
Participants examined:
• attack surface exposure in shipboard systems
• early warning indicators under constrained connectivity
• escalation challenges between technical and operational roles
• IT/OT convergence risks in maritime infrastructure
Maritime cyber risk behaves differently from corporate IT environments.
Connectivity is distributed.
Operational tolerance for downtime is limited.
Incident response windows are narrow.
Structural Complexity: No Two Vessels Are Identical
Standardized security models do not automatically transfer to maritime environments.
Each vessel differs in:
• onboard architecture
• vendor integrations
• retrofit history
• connectivity configuration
• operational mission profile
Even vessels within the same fleet may operate under different technical conditions.
This variability complicates visibility, response standardization, and compliance validation.
Security controls must align with operational reality rather than fixed templates.
The DIAMATIX Perspective
Horizon Europe projects like D-NAVIO enable structured collaboration between cybersecurity specialists, maritime operators, digital twin researchers, and risk modeling experts.
Within such interdisciplinary environments, operational validation becomes essential.
Maritime cybersecurity requires:
• continuous monitoring adapted to constrained environments
• defined response ownership
• tested escalation under operational pressure
• coordination between engineering and cybersecurity domains
Cyber resilience at sea is not a theoretical exercise.
It is part of operational safety.
About D-NAVIO
D-NAVIO is a Horizon Europe-funded project focused on advancing intelligent digital twin technologies and AI-driven risk modeling for maritime safety and sustainability. The consortium consists of 16 European partners combining expertise across cybersecurity, maritime operations, digital engineering, and risk analytics.
Learn more
- Project Website: D-NAVIO Website
- D-NAVIO Newsletter: Sign-Up
- CORDIS project page (GA 101202933): Project details
- Project press release: D-NAVIO – Digital Ship launch announcement
- Project LinkTree: www.linktr.ee/dnavio
D-NAVIO is funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
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