POSEIDON: An Integrated Cybersecurity Framework for Maritime Systems with Empirical Validation

POSEIDON: An Integrated Cybersecurity Framework for Maritime Systems with Empirical Validation | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article POSEIDON: An Integrated Cybersecurity Framework for Maritime Systems with Empirical Validation Ferney Martínez Ossa, Luis Enrique Sánchez Crespo, Antonio Santos-Olmo Parra, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7490210/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The maritime sector faces increasing cyber threats that compromise the operational safety of ships. This study introduces POSEIDON (Procedures, Operations and Standards for Comprehensive Detection for Naval Cyber Defence), a modular process-based framework that operationalises international standards (ISO/IEC 27001, NIST CSF, IEC 62443 and IMO guidelines) into verifiable procedures tailored to the naval IT/OT environment. Through a case study on a dual-purpose vessel, its empirical deployment in the Data Distribution Unit (DDU) proved effective: critical vulnerabilities were reduced by 57%, phishing success dropped by 85.7%, and critical intrusions were contained within approximately 30 minutes. These outcomes were accompanied by measurable improvements in mean time to detection (MTTD), technology readiness level (TRL), and the crew’s cybersecurity culture under operational stress. The study makes five key contributions: it presents a modular framework validated in real operational environments; provides reproducible validation supported by robust quantitative metrics; integrates cybersecurity requirements throughout the TRL model and extends it to TRL-10 for secure decommissioning; incorporates cyberpsychology as a pillar of organisational resilience; and demonstrates scalability and transferability to other vessels and critical infrastructures. Collectively, the findings establish POSEIDON as a comprehensive and transferable benchmark for next-generation maritime cybersecurity aligned with international standards. POSEIDON Maritime Cybersecurity Operational Resilience Cyberpsychology Technological Maturity. Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7490210","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":510551506,"identity":"c905cec0-2422-459d-90a7-8f19fe85b908","order_by":0,"name":"Ferney Martínez Ossa","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABEklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBAC9gYkzgEglmNgB7MtcGrhOQBnMoO1GANpEJAgTgsIJDYQ1MLe++zBxzaGaP7Z5w8eLqioS+9v5jFg5qmRiGZgb3+AVQvPcXPDmW0MuTPOJTMcnnGGLXfGYZCWYxK5DTxnDLBpsZdIY5PmBWppOMPMcJi3jSe3AaSFtwGoRSIHu8Pkn7FJ/wVqmQ/W8k8iXR6uRf45dodJsLFJMwK1bABraTBIMEDYwoDVYTw8aWySPeckcjeeYQYqPpZguPEwW8HBOUC/tPHkYNfCfoxN4keZTe68M4yPP/PU1MnLHW/e+OBNjU1uP/txrA4DA0Y2tFg4ACLYcKoHgT94ZUfBKBgFo2CkAwCMKlYaPfnFMwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Castilla-La Mancha","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ferney","middleName":"Martínez","lastName":"Ossa","suffix":""},{"id":510551509,"identity":"e78f268f-50f8-4684-97a6-2c2d921088c5","order_by":1,"name":"Luis Enrique Sánchez Crespo","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Castilla-La Mancha","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luis","middleName":"Enrique Sánchez","lastName":"Crespo","suffix":""},{"id":510551510,"identity":"d483d979-7fd7-49b7-87fd-922e06d345fa","order_by":2,"name":"Antonio Santos-Olmo Parra","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Castilla-La Mancha","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Antonio","middleName":"Santos-Olmo","lastName":"Parra","suffix":""},{"id":510551511,"identity":"16cb1863-0b2c-4692-ad18-921f4da6a52d","order_by":3,"name":"David G. 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