Keynotes

The approval of the IMO voluntary Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) Code marks a decisive step toward the adoption of autonomous and remotely operated vessels. While opening new markets and new businesses the ongoing evolution is expanding the cyber-attack surface of the maritime sector. This presentation examines the emerging relationship between autonomous shipping and port digital infrastructures (i.e. devices, networks, cloud tenants, software interfaces), offering highlights for a proper, design, deploy and assessment of future Remote Operation Centers (ROCs) and other Critical Maritime Infrastructure (CMI) assets. Starting from recent maritime cybersecurity incidents and the evolving IMO regulatory framework, the analysis highlights key security challenges associated with MASS operations, including the protection of ship-to-shore command links, resilience against sensor spoofing and false data injection, AI and machine learning vulnerabilities, and ransomware attacks affecting autonomous navigation systems. The discussion emphasizes the importance of trusted communication infrastructures, zero-trust architectures, certified data sources, and human oversight as fundamental elements of future maritime safety. The presentation also describes ongoing Italian initiatives aimed at supporting MASS deployment with Test Vessels, and the development of a national MASS and e-Navigation digital infrastructure and testing platform in Livorno. These activities contribute to the IMO Experience Building Phase and provide a foundation for validating technologies, operational procedures, and cybersecurity models. The presentation concludes with recommendations for achieving MASS readiness by 2032 through coordinated regulatory, technological, and cybersecurity efforts.

Corporate AI adoption has moved from experimentation to daily operation. Yet scholars and practitioners reveal a troubling pattern: departments and employees are choosing AI tools and building autonomous agents independently, with no company-wide coordination, generating an "AI sprawl" - a faster, more decentralized version of classic shadow IT. This presentation discusses the reasons why sprawl is accelerating (zero-friction tools, self-justifying budgets, no-code agent builders), the widening gap between usage and governance, and the financial exposure this creates—from insider-risk losses to data breach costs. It broadly discusses the hidden costs and risks of ungoverned AI. The deck closes with a suggestion for a practical four-step governance framework and sized recommendations for both SMEs and large enterprises.