The war in Iran has dominated headlines with reports of airstrikes and escalating military activity. But beyond the immediate devastation, the conflict has also illuminated a quieter and rapidly growing danger: the vulnerability of ships, and the people who operate them, to disruption of their navigation systems.

Anna Raymaker is a Georgia Tech cybersecurity researcher studying critical infrastructure and maritime systems. In this article for The Conversation, Raymaker explores how cyberattacks such as GPS spoofing threaten oil supertankers and cargo ships at sea, and why the threat is skyrocketing.