Cybersecurity Student Spends Summer of Securing the High Seas

When Anna Raymaker began her Ph.D. at Georgia Tech, she hadn't yet decided which area of cybersecurity she wanted to pursue. That changed when she began working on a boat test bed and talking with mariners about the cybersecurity challenges they face at sea.

Those conversations led Raymaker to focus her research on maritime security, including vulnerabilities in the Automatic Identification System (AIS), which ships use to broadcast their location, speed, and course.

This summer, Raymaker brought this research to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory, where she built a test bed to study AIS security in a controlled environment. The experience has also led to new research questions, from the security of shipboard Starlink connections to autonomous vessels and other maritime technologies.

We spoke with Raymaker about her research, her experience at Lincoln Laboratory, and what she hopes to investigate next.