Maritime network plays an important role in civilian and academic applications. However, traditional maritime communication technologies cannot provide broadband services that can satisfy users' need. In this thesis, we proposed a buoy-based maritime mesh network and analyzed the maritime communication characteristics. Then we proposed a link-state-aware routing protocol to address link blockage problem when routing packets and built a simulator to evaluate the network performance. There are several parts of my work. Firstly, we simulated ocean water field. Jerry Tessendorf proposed a method to create ocean surface based on Phillips spectrum which is a wind-driven, semi-empirical oceanography model. We implemented this algorithm in MATLAB and adjusted a key parameter in this algorithm. Secondly, we proposed a link-state-aware routing protocol. Link stability is related to sea state and instant nodes elevation. In link-state-aware routing protocol, the transmitter will send predicted elevation information to receiver, and receiver will decide if the link is stable in next several seconds based on sea states and node elevation information. Finally, we simulated this mesh network in network simulator 3 (NS3). This simulator will enable users to assess the network performance in various sea states. We also need to build a new mobility model, a new propagation model and implement a collision-free access method (spatial TDMA) model in simulation. / Master of Science / Due to burst growth of network coverage, seamless broadband connectivity has been realized in both our daily life and industrial operations. However, wireless communication coverage fades away when moving just several miles away from the coast. Current marine communication technologies cannot provide stable and broadband service, so we proposed a buoy-based maritime mesh network. In this thesis, we built a network simulator which integrates with several new models after analyzed the dynamic ocean wave motion and maritime communication link characteristics.

The maritime industry is growing more and more for every year that passes. As the industry grows it also becomes a more attractive target for cyber criminals. The amount ofcyberattacks in the industry are few, but it is growing at an alarming rate. This literaturestudy identifies the most common datacom systems and infrastructure in the maritimeindustry and their vulnerabilities. This paper also identifies possible solutions and improvements that can be made to existing datacom systems to make them less susceptible tocyber attacks. The results show that there are many solutions that could be implementedthat would increase the cyber security in the industry, but many of them require international cooperation to implement. Therefore standards are suggested to be implemented inorder to push organisations to update their systems. Additionally, this paper delves intothe aviation industry to examine how the datacom infrastructure utilized in the maritimeindustry could be adopted to enhance both efficiency and security

Digital Selective Calling (DSC) is a vital maritime communications and safety system, enabling ships in distress to alert nearby vessels and coast guard stations of their emergency. While DSC is suitable for calling, its technical format is substandard from a cybersecurity perspective. Specifically, this work aims to demonstrate that Very High Frequency (VHF) DSC distress calls can be spoofed using Software Defined Radio (SDR). A VHF DSC distress call encoder and VHF DSC SDR signal constructor were developed. The forged distress call was transmitted using various techniques to two different DSC decoder programs, as well as to the maritime VHF transceiver ICOM IC-M510. It was shown that all of the targeted DSC decoders were susceptible to spoofing. This thesis concludes that VHF DSC distress calls can be spoofed using SDR, and infers that the DSC system as a whole has inherent security vulnerabilities that need to be addressed to assure the safety of future seafaring.