Defence Forces and MTU student hackers take part in simulated cyberattack on port

A simulated cyberattack on an Irish port was neutralised by focused teams of Defence Forces Personnel, IT academics and hotshot student 'white hat' hackers in an exercise at Munster Technological University (MTU) last week, the college has revealed.

The teams worked from a control room in MTU’s Nimbus Research Centre in the city, using an IT sandbox where the threat can be launched –and neutralised – safely, while replicating real-world infrastructure and environments.

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 on Friday.

The simulation exercise, which mirrored a real-world cyberattack on a maritime port and ship, was designed by Airbus and MTU.

A port, like the Port of Cork, is attacked and disabled in the cyberattack simulation, and a ship is also attacked, so that the crew lose all control over its operation and it is blocking access to the port.

The teams, a mix of naval and army personnel, cybersecurity experts and students, have to disable the attack, regain control of the ship and use open source intelligence tools to identify the perpetrator and support Europol in apprehending the hacker group’s leader.

Hybrid warfare has become an increasingly effective tool to wreak havoc around the world, with cyber attacks now capable of quickly paralysing critical infrastructure.

The advent of AI is now increasing the speed and scale of cyberattacks, although it has not yet changed the type of attacks that are taking place, 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.” 

Brian Smith of the Naval Service Communications Information Service (CIS), based in Haulbowline, said that the threat landscape is changing, with an increase in cyberattacks.

There is not a day that goes by when State actors or non-State actors are not targeting countries in cyber-attacks, he said. 

"Ireland needs to be prepared for that. And the public and private sector have a role to play.” 

Students from Cyber Innovate, a postgraduate programme designed to equip professionals with the expertise needed to identify significant unsolved cybersecurity problems and establish and lead new cybersecurity start-ups, took part in the operation.