Munster Technological University (MTU) brought together participants from the Irish Naval Service, the Irish Defence Forces, and MTU researchers and students for the Cybersecurity Smart Maritime Challenge 2026. The simulation exercise, designed by Airbus in collaboration with Cyber Innovate, the National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) and Department of Computer Science, mirrored a real-world cyberattack on a maritime port and ship.
The event was hosted by MTU’s Department of Computer Science, Cybersecurity Research and Innovation Centre, NMCI and Cyber Innovate programme. Cyber Innovate is a postgraduate programme designed to equip professionals with the expertise, skills, and networks needed to identify significant unsolved cybersecurity problems and establish and lead new cybersecurity start-ups.
Held on Friday, 9 October in the Cybersecurity Prototyping Lab in the Nimbus Research Centre, MTU Cork, the challenge demonstrated how Ireland’s ports and harbours can be defended against evolving cyber threats, while providing participants with practical, hands-on experience in responding to cybersecurity incidents.
As part of the exercise, a cybersecurity threat actor group paralysed a port’s IT systems and disabled a ship at its entrance, effectively blocking all traffic. Five teams took part, comprising personnel from the Irish Naval Service and Defence forces, alongside MTU researchers and students from Cyber Innovate and Computer Science. Participants were tasked with identifying the points of attack, regaining control of the vessel, and supporting Europol in apprehending the hacker group’s leader.
In February 2026, the Government unveiled Ireland’s first National Maritime Security Strategy aimed at strengthening the protection of Irish waters and vital maritime infrastructure, while enhancing cooperation with EU and international partners to counter emerging threats. Malicious cyber activity targeting critical infrastructure is among the key risks identified in the strategy, highlighting the importance of exercises such as the Cybersecurity Smart Maritime Challenge.
Speaking at the event, Ronan Coleman, Director of Cyber Innovate said: “Since Ireland took up the Presidency of the European Council in July this year, maritime security and defence have been a significant national focus. Now more than ever, simulations like the Cybersecurity Smart Maritime Challenge are vital in ensuring that we are prepared for the threats we may face.
“Collaboration is key, and bringing together the Irish Navy, Defence Forces, maritime experts and cybersecurity specialists offers our students the opportunity to develop deep insights into how threat actors target critical infrastructure, and also enables them to develop the skills necessary to respond to these kind of attacks, which may ultimately lead to them creating new innovative products and solutions to counteract these types of attack.”
Dr George O’Mahony, Head of the Department of Computer Science at MTU, said: “Preparing for cybersecurity incidents before they happen is critical to protecting Ireland’s maritime infrastructure. Through realistic simulations like the Cybersecurity Smart Maritime Challenge, running on a state of the art cyber range platform, participants can experience the complexity of responding to a major cyberattack, develop their technical and problem-solving skills, and learn how to make decisions under pressure.
“By working alongside experts from the Irish Naval Service and maritime experts, our students and researchers gain invaluable insights into the challenges facing the maritime sector. This type of hands-on training and collaboration is essential to building the pipeline of skilled cybersecurity professionals Ireland needs to respond to emerging threats.”
MTU is recognised as a national leader in cybersecurity education, training, research and innovation. The University runs multiple programmes and initiatives, including the MSc in Cybersecurity and BSc(Hons) in IT Management & Cybersecurity in the Dept. Computer Science, Cyber Innovate, Cyber Skills, Cyber Explore, Cyber Resilience, Cyber Safety and Cyber Futures. MTU’s graduates contribute to Cork’s reputation as Ireland’s cybersecurity hub, helping to attract national and international companies to the region.
MTU is also home to two distinct Cyber Range infrastructures, both a cloud based and a mobile platform which are state-of-the-art cybersecurity platforms unique in Ireland that enables simulations of cyberattacks on virtual organisations, providing invaluable training for students, researchers, and industry professionals without risking real-world damage or outages.
MTU Cyber Innovate is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the ERDF Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-27. To learn more about the Cyber Innovate news and events, visit www.cyberinnovate.ie
