The air transport industry’s combination of interconnectivity and complexity, and its weight in the economy as critical national infrastructure, makes the industry an attractive target for cyberattacks.
A cyberattack has the potential to wreak large-scale havoc on major transport hubs worldwide and lead to huge numbers of delays, flight cancellations and heightened security alerts.
It could even put an airline out of business, which is why 90 percent of Airline CEO’s view cybersecurity as a significant risk.
Disruption to the global transportation network can cause ripples of economic and social turmoil. Aviation incidents have a disproportionate impact on the public consciousness, making loss of passenger trust and business reputation a preoccupation for airlines and airports alike.
The reality is that global aviation continues to experience regular attacks on several fronts; whether it is a single drone bringing an international airport to a standstill, a breach leading to the widespread loss of customer data or disruption caused by a direct attack on operational systems.
As aviation leans more and more on the massive interconnectedness of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, vulnerabilities in aviation IT and OT systems will also likely mount.
The Aviation Cybersecurity Systems Engineer
Current and projected future cyberattacks on the aviation industry are such a huge concern that this issue has given rise to a new job position: the aviation cybersecurity systems engineer. Responsibilities often include:
- Performing security assessments of proposed and existing avionics systems using applicable industry guidance and methods
- Working with internal engineering teams and OEM partners to plan, design and develop security architectures to meet certification and business requirements
- Generating and reviewing threat scenarios and data flow diagrams to identify security risk
- Maintaining Aviation security processes
- Developing and coordinating the execution of test procedures to verify security measures
Want to learn more about aviation cybersecurity? Tonex offers Aviation Cybersecurity Training Bootcamp, a 3-day course that covers civilian and military aircraft cybersecurity and operation analysis, such as: 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 four dozen other Aerospace & Defense Engineering Training courses. For more information, questions, comments, contact us.