Aviation Cybersecurity Airworthiness Certification

Aviation Cybersecurity Airworthiness Certification by Tonex

There are few topics more concerning to the aviation industry than aviation cybersecurity.

Analysts are quick to point out that airplanes are not isolated elements. Consequently, in regards to aviation cybersecurity, the aviation sector has become increasingly dependent upon software-driven systems, internet connectivity and trustworthy digital data.

The downside of connectivity, of course, is vulnerability. The modern e-enabled aircraft utilize IP-based communications and real-time connectivity with the airline and air traffic control. Aside from the numerous benefits, connectivity creates exposure to cyber threats.

Experts in aviation cybersecurity believe constant and mandatory upgrades expose legacy aircraft systems to wide range of cyber threats. Keeping legacy aircraft current with new technologies and cybersecurity safeguards is believed essential.

advantages as well as aviation cybersecurity risks.

Aviation cybersecurity professionals believe some of the major cyber threats to the aviation industry include the downing of an airplane. This can occur several ways such as doing damage to vital systems, or disrupting information and changing data that could cause pilots to make “wrong decisions.”

Cyber criminals could also disrupt information that would cause a false representation that would force the pilots to land the aircraft.

There’s also the fear of bad actors disabling an entire airport.  Besides the economic impact, taking control of an airport system will surely cause “public trust“ damage.

Additionally, there’s much trepidation over the industry’s Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) system, a modern, preferred surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked by air traffic controllers — as well as cybercriminals.

The Defense Department is particularly worried over the known cybersecurity risks of what has become a mandatory aircraft tracking system.

The Air Traffic Control segment of the aviation 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).

According to analysts, the aviation sector is now working hard to address aviation cybersecurity challenges. Cybersecurity professionals believe part of the answer to enhanced aviation security lies in initiatives that take a holistic approach to this complex system, not only its individual components, but in analyzing its vulnerabilities and attack vectors.

Strategies like micro segmentation are going to be used to divide networks into multiple micro segments and to apply separate access privileges. This approach contains any compromise or data breach to its specific segment.

Aviation Cybersecurity Airworthiness Certification

Aviation Cyber Security Airworthiness Certification Training, is a 3-day Aviation Cyber Security Airworthiness training that introduces participants to aviation industry’s best practices cyber-security risk assessment, analysis, development, mitigation and assurance.

Participants learn about the new and mandatory Aviation Cybersecurity regulation and standards such as DO-326A (U.S.) and ED-202A (Europe). Airworthiness Security Process Specification are the concepts  of the “DO-326/ED-202 Set” and key acceptable means of compliance by FAA & EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) for aviation cybersecurity airworthiness certification.

Learning Objectives

Participants will learn about guidelines, compliance, regulations, specifications and best practices in :

• The “DO-326/ED-202 Set” compliance, risks and costs
• Analyzing cyber-security levels for the development, deployment & in-service phases
• Aircraft security aspects of safety, systems-approach to security, security planning, the airworthiness security process, and security effectiveness assurance
• Aviation avionics software development
• Safety-oriented development process including the SAE standards ARP-4761 for Safety & ARP-4754A for Systems Development
• Software & Hardware development standards DO-178C & DO-254
• DO-356A/ED-203A: “Airworthiness Security Methods and Considerations”
• DO-355/ED-204: “Information Security Guidance for Continuing Airworthiness” (U.S. & Europe) and ED-201: “Aeronautical Information System Security (AISS) Framework Guidance”
• ED-205: “Process Standard for Security Certification / Declaration of Air Traffic Management / Air Navigation Services (ATM/ANS) Ground Systems” (Europe only)

Aviation Cyber Security Airworthiness Certification participants work in a group workshop to identify the key principles and consequences of aviation cybersecurity.

Course Agenda and Topics

The Airworthiness Security Process

• What is cybersecurity airworthiness?
• Airworthiness security
• FAA & EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) for aviation cybersecurity airworthiness certification
• FAA/RTCA & EASA/EUROCAE
• NIST Standards
• ISO Standards
• European Cybersecurity Standards Coordination Group (ECSCG)
• Cyber Safety Commercial Aviation Team (Cyber Safety CAT)
• Other Aerospace Standards
• FAA/EASA Aviation Cybersecurity mandates & recommendations
• DO-326A guidance for aircraft certification to handle the information security (i.e., cybersecurity) threat to aircraft safety
• Security engineering process corresponding compliance objectives
• Cybersecurity aspects of Operational Technology (OT)
• Security as a Safety Aspect
• Security into Safety through SAE ARP 4754(A) / 4761
• Aeronautical Information System Security (AISS) Framework Guidance
• Airworthiness Security Process Specification
• Airworthiness Security Methods and Considerations
• Information Security Guidance for Continuing Airworthiness
• Process Standard for Security Certification/Declaration of Air Traffic Management/Air Navigation Services (ATM/ANS) Ground Systems
• The Airworthiness Security Process: Risk Assessment, Security Architecture & Measures
• Applications for Field Loadable Software (FLS), COTS equipment, In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) systems, Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs), Aircraft Network Security Program (ANSP), Security Incident Management and more

FAA and EASA Civil Aviation Certification

• Aviation safety, reliability and security principals
• Security process, the safety assessment process (SAE ARP 4761), and the system engineering process (SAE ARP 4754A
• How DO-326 and ED-202 Mandatory for Airworthiness
• Aviation/aircraft safety effects of “Intentional Unauthorized Electronic Interaction (IUEI)”
• Cyber Threats
• DO-178C/ED-12C/ARP4754A
• DO-326A/ED-202A: “Airworthiness Security Process Specification
• DO-356A/ED-203A: “Airworthiness Security Methods & Considerations
• ED-201: “Aeronautical Information System Security (AISS) Framework Guidance
• SAE’s ARP-4754A, SAE ARP-4761, DO-178C, DO-254
• Physical security or physical attacks on the aircraft (or ground element)
• Airport, Airline or Air Traffic Service Provider
• Communication, navigation, and surveillance services managed by national agencies or their international equivalents (e.g., GPS, SBAS, GBAS, ATC communications, ADS-B)

FAA and EASA Airworthiness Security Certification

• FAA certification
• DO-326A, Airworthiness Security Process Specification
• DO-355, Information Security Guidance for Continuing Airworthiness,
• DO-356A, Airworthiness Security Methods and Considerations
• Airworthiness Security
• FAA Regulations, standards
• Design Assurance Level (DLA) requirements and systems/functional critically
• EASA certification
• ED-201 – Aeronautical Information System Security (AISS) Framework Guidance
• ED-202A – Airworthiness Security Process Specification
• ED-203A – Airworthiness Security Methods and Considerations
• ED-204 – Information Security Guidance for Continuing Airworthiness
• ED-205 – Process Standard for Security Certification and Declaration of ATM ANS Ground Systems

Aviation Cybersecurity Principles

• Cyber-Physical-Systems Security
• Aviation Cybersecurity: The DO-326/ED-202-Set
• Context, Background & References of the DO-326/ED-202-Set
• The DO-326/ED-202-set Structure, Contents
• ARP-4754
• ED-201: “Aeronautical Information System Security (AISS) Framework Guidance”
• The Airworthiness Security Process Steps
• The DO-326/ED-202-Set “Core”
• In-Service Cyber-Security
• DO-355/ED-204: “Information Security Guidance for Continuing Airworthiness”
• Aircraft, Ground Equipment, Generic InfoSec, Organizational & Personnel Aspects
• Security Events/Incidents Management
• ATM/ANS Cybersecurity Certification
• ED-205: “Process Standard for Security Certification / Declaration of Air Traffic Management / Air Navigation Services (ATM/ANS) Ground Systems”

The Airworthiness Security Process Steps, Activities & Objectives

• Cybersecurity Plan for Certification
• Security Risk Assessment Process
• Security Development Process
• Cyber-Physical-Systems Security
• Security Effectiveness Assurance
• DO-326A/ED-202A & DO-356A/ED-203A: “Airworthiness Security Process Specification” & “Airworthiness Security Methods & Considerations“
• DO-356A/ED-203A: “Airworthiness Security Methods and Considerations”
• Cybersecurity for Development-Supplements
• Modifications
• COTS & Previously-Certified Systems

Cybersecurity and Safety Practices for Aircraft and Aircraft Systems

• Cybersecurity definitions, key principles, methods and considerations
• Integration of the DO-326/ED-202-set to avionics development & certification processes
• DO-326/ED-202-set components, processes, steps, activities & objectives
• Cybersecurity certification strategies for avionics initial Airworthiness
• Continued Airworthiness
• Advisory Circular (AC) 119-1
• “Airworthiness & Operational Authorization of Aircraft Network Security Program (ANSP)”
• “In-service” DO-355 segment of the DO-326 set
• Advisory Circular (AC) 20-140C (Sep 2016): “Guidelines for Design Approval of Aircraft Data Link Communication Systems Supporting Air Traffic Services (ATS) (U.S.)
• DO-326 set: DO-326, DO-356 & DO-355.
• Advisory Circular (AC) 120-76D
• Authorization for Use of Electronic Flight Bags

Aeronautical Information System Security Design, Development, and Operation                                     

• Electronic Flight Bag (EFB)
• Field Loadable Software (FLS)
• In-Flight Entertainment (IFE)
• Non-trusted Services
• Logging
• Air Traffic Management (ATM)
• Internet Protocol Suite (IPS)
• Aircraft-Ground Links, SATCOM
• Continued Airworthiness (CA)
• Service of Aircraft
• Software
• Supply Chain Audit

Workshop and Group Activities

• Tonex Road Maps
• Cybersecurity Awareness
• Understanding Aviation Threat Vectors
• Assets
• Actors
• Trust Boundaries
• Information Flows
• Threats
• Ensuring a Product Cybersecurity Culture
• Design and Operational Principles
• Establishing Cybersecurity Regulations/Standards
• Understanding and Managing the Shared Risk
• Communicating the Threats and Assuring Situational Awareness
• Incident Response & Mitigation
• Strengthening the defensive system
• Key Policy Priorities
• Developing an Engagement Road Map for Addressing Cybersecurity Concerns
• Engagement Plan & Stakeholders
• International Collaboration
• Develop improved secure interoperable connectivity for commercial aviation

Aviation Cybersecurity Airworthiness Certification