Aviation cybersecurity is a serious matter.
Aviation cybersecurity needs a high level of attention because while the aviation industry has reaped the benefits of digitization over the past 10 years, digitalization has also triggered new risks, including social and technical vulnerabilities that had never previously been addressed.
As aviation sector analysts put it: Aviation cybersecurity must be effective because any disruption can quickly ripple out to have international impacts, cause significant financial and reputational damage, and potentially compromise safety.
In other words, potential cyber risks are substantial. Permanent connectivity has created a larger threat surface and aircraft today are communications and data nodes, projected to generate 98 million terabytes of data by 2026.
The challenge is to secure data transfers between ground and aircraft, both in the cockpit and in the cabin, as well as between onboard sensors and systems.
In the aviation ecosystem, where the various players are all highly interdependent and increasingly interconnected, cybersecurity involves not only the protection of information in the form of digital data, but also the associated networks, websites, services, computers and portals that are transporting and enabling access to data.
Most cybersecurity professionals agree that cybersecurity is not a single application, but rather a system of processes and protocols working in tandem to protect your information and services from potential breaches and disruptions.
The ATC industry is especially vulnerable to a range of cyber threats, such as threats to data integrity and confidentiality, malicious code, physical attacks (drones, lasers, etc.), and DoS attacks (GPS/frequency jamming and UHF/VHF transmitters).
Solutions to effective aviation cybersecurity are not written in stone. To succeed you need to have good routines on how to handle threats and breaches, foster a culture of security, test your applications, and perform exercises to increase knowledge of potential threats and security risks.
The right tools to secure your data are also necessary.
Encryption of data is one of the most important measures to mitigate the risk of cyber-attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks.
Additionally, it’s important to understand that regarding aviation cybersecurity, cyber-attacks do not recognize boundaries or geography so international cooperation on cybersecurity is critical for staying ahead of evolving threats.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Aviation Cybersecurity Training Bootcamp, a 3-day cybersecurity oriented aviation training course covering civilian and military aircraft cybersecurity and operation analysis including: airworthiness security DO-326A/ED 202A, information and data, mission, networks, technology, embedded avionics systems and the holistic system security engineering problem 360 degree.
Tonex also offers nearly three dozen more courses in Cybersecurity Foundation. This includes cutting edge courses like:
—Cybersecurity Fundamentals (2 days)
—Electric Grid Cybersecurity Master Certification (4 weeks)
—Network Security Training (2 days)
—Software Security Training (2 days)
—ICS Cybersecurity Training (4 days)
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.