Cybersecurity Awareness Among Deck Nautical Cadets in the Era of Digital Navigation Systems: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

The progressive digitalization of shipboard navigation systems — encompassing Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems, Automatic Identification Systems, GPS-dependent positioning infrastructure, and Vessel Traffic Service communication networks — has created a cybersecurity threat landscape directly relevant to deck officer professional competency that IMO's Maritime Cyber Risk Management guidelines have formally recognized but that maritime vocational education has not yet systematically addressed. This study examines cybersecurity awareness among 10 Deck Nautical cadets at Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Pelayaran (STIP) Jakarta across three domains: Navigation System Vulnerability Awareness, Cyber Hygiene Behavior, and Incident Response Knowledge. A mixed quantitative design employing Likert-scale self-assessment combined with an objective cybersecurity knowledge test was administered from August 2025 to March 2026. Overall Cyber Awareness Index mean was 2.87/5.00 (Moderate-Low), with Navigation System Vulnerability Awareness (M = 2.84) and Incident Response Knowledge (M = 2.31) falling below functional competency thresholds, and Cyber Hygiene Behavior recording a moderate score (M = 3.47). Objective knowledge test performance averaged 48.3% correct, confirming that self-assessed awareness substantially overestimates actual knowledge. Only 1 of 10 cadets correctly identified IMO Resolution MSC.428(98) as the governance instrument requiring maritime cyber risk integration into the ISM Code. The study establishes the first cybersecurity awareness baseline for DN cadets at STIP Jakarta and provides evidence for the urgency of cybersecurity integration within the Nautika program curriculum.