Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates

Over-the-air updates deliver software and firmware to shipboard systems remotely over satellite or cellular links, rather than by a technician’s laptop. The benefit is faster patching of navigation, propulsion, and monitoring systems; the risk is that an unverified or intercepted update can compromise safety-critical OT. IACS UR E22 governs software maintenance of computer-based systems, and UR E26/E27 require change control and signed, authenticated update mechanisms. Class typically expects rollback capability and cryptographic verification before an OTA payload reaches a safety-critical controller.