AIS is evolving to be more

[uncledom]

I know not everyone is a big fan of AIS due to slow update rates and the fact that not all vessels transmit, especially smaller ones. But I like the amount of information that can be easily conveyed by a target and apparently so does the USCG. Hopefully new applications will drive improvements in this technology and reduce costs.

http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2015/...heCoastGuardCompass+(The+Coast+Guard+Compass)

 

[Rick D]

Interesting. I have read about virtual buoys, lighthouses and hazard warnings, but I have not encountered any in SoCal.

 

[Gunni]

This is going to be the next big leap in electronic navigation. There will be AIS "targets" that can be remotely set by NOAA including temporary or immediate hazards. Even if the Nav Aid is missing it can be displayed on a AIS chartplotter overlay. If you already have integrated AIS overlay on your chartplotter you know how what the future holds.

 

[capta]

Sounds like a great plan on a system that I've heard can be easily hacked.

 

[JamesG161]

AIS is only valuable if people are needing it. So far my DSC does the same as AIS with USCG and more.
Now part of navigational aid... maybe.

I am in a relatively low traffic area, so AIS becomes little more than an iPhone friend finder.
Jim...

 

[cb32863]

Sounds like a great plan on a system that I've heard can be easily hacked.

Proof?

 

[Jackdaw]

Proof?

AIS was designed when the entire protocol and transport was safely in the hardware domain. Sadly as it has become internet-borne and hardware -based radios become software based, the whole deal has been opened up to potential shenanigans.

From our friends at Black-hat.

https://www.blackhat.com/docs/asia-...Understanding-Vulnerabilities-And-Attacks.pdf

 

[Gunni]

Good point Jackdaw. I suppose if NOAA can remotely set an AIS target via IP, so can a bogey.

 

[dlochner]

I wouldn't worry too much about AIS hacks. We humans tend to over emphasize low probability, low risk threats and under estimate high risk, high probability events.

The AIS gurus need to harden the system, it it the responsible thing to do. Find a software/hardware vulnerability, fix it.

Given the size of the US coastline and the number of boats out there, even if it was certain that one of those AIS signals was bogus, the likelihood of any one of us running into it is pretty small.

The world and sailing is not without risk. Prudent seamanship requires that we take reasonable precautions against known risks. Falling overboard is probably a higher probability than running into an malicious AIS signal.

Sail, have fun, enjoy the water, and don't fret low probability events. None of us gets out of this alive anyway.

 

[capta]

Proof?

What do I look like, a lawyer?

 

[JohnShannon]

check out marine traffic dot com the approaches SF show up on AIS, suppose eventually the actual physical buoys could disappear. The other new tech is the AIS-SART which is kinda like a plb except you broadcast your position to nearby AIS boats.

 

[capta]

Wow, something to really look forward to. Sailing in the fog in SF Bay and the system or your electronics go down and there are no more sound signals on the buoys and marks! Oh wait a minute, there ARE no buoys. Yea for technology!

 

[uncledom]

The point of the light ship is that it is transmitting information on station. I do not use the internet for my AIS information, I use my chart plotter which recieves a signal from my antenna and I only use it while under way and when the target is close enough I switch to binoculars. If you surround yourself with a virtual world you can't trust any thing in it. I'm sure the Healy will also be announcing on 16 that it is on station as a replacement for ATONs or whatever it's doing. I know that the USCG has a system for triangulating VHF transmissions so trying to transmit false information in an area they are transmitting in will most likely be met with quick interdiction. I'm with DL, enjoy your sail, use the aids appropriately, stop worrying about the doom and gloom of life, after all no one gets out alive.

 

[Jackdaw]

Nobody (certainly not me) is suggesting Gloom and Doom. I'm a HUGE fan of AIS and have been from day 1.

But any reasonable use of technology has to include a level-headed understanding of it potential weaknesses. Unlike the mostly contained systems we use on boats, AIS is distrubuted system open to be hacked on both the hardware as well as the implementation (software) levels. It might not ever happen. But it is important to fully understand the technology we rely on to keep us safe, and understand its potential limitations. Anything less is foolish. Sadly, I'm amazed at how many sailors (heck people in general) have NO idea how some of their most important systems work, and correspondingly how they can fail.

 

[cb32863]

AIS was designed when the entire protocol and transport was safely in the hardware domain. Sadly as it has become internet-borne and hardware -based radios become software based, the whole deal has been opened up to potential shenanigans.

From our friends at Black-hat.

https://www.blackhat.com/docs/asia-...Understanding-Vulnerabilities-And-Attacks.pdf

Nice to see real information instead of the usual " I heard this from a friend's second cousin who's girlfriend's brother knows a guy who works at a computer store and is a 'hacker' cause ya know, anyone that knows how to install a graphics card must be one."

 

[uncledom]

I'm not pointing fingers, I just think the more applications they find for the technology the more likely it also becomes more secure. I use it as a tool just like radar. I also keep a watch, I don't set an audible range alarm in either device. My hope is actually that everyone else keep a watch and to use these devices to help you see beyond visual range and anticipate any situations.

 

[Gunni]

There are also these other technologies, radar, paper charts, bearing compasses, and scopes that provide alternate navigation data feeds. I tell the younger crew in the old days we spent 75% of our sailing time debating just where the hell we were . VMG was elusive. Everything was always approximate, and you always had to keep a careful watch. That remains as true even with an MFD.