Document Outlines Cyber Threats To Aviation And How Governments And Industry Can Respond

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) released its decision paper “A Framework for Aviation Cybersecurity,” as part of the AIAA AVIATION 2013 conference held earlier this week in Los Angeles, CA. 

A Framework for Aviation Cybersecurity” outlines the existing and evolving cyber threat to the world’s $2.2 trillion commercial aviation enterprise, and notes the lack of international agreement on cybersecurity as it relates to aviation. “This Framework recognizes the need to reach a unified understanding of the threats and the risks posed to aviation, and seeks to foster a cybersecurity culture that protects the enterprise,” said AIAA President-Elect Jim Albaugh. “The global aviation system is a very complex and integrated system. As dependence on this system increases, it also becomes a target for those seeking to disrupt the industry and the global economy. The impacts of an attack on our national air transportation system would be felt far beyond the aerospace industry, and solutions must take those interests into account.”

“The Framework stresses the need for the world’s aviation community to establish a cohesive cybersecurity regime, in particular by: establishing a single framework for cybersecurity throughout the ecosystem; establishing a protocol for communicating the threats and building enhanced situational awareness throughout the aviation enterprise; strengthening defensive systems and defining design and operational principles for them; providing cohesive situational response; identifying and developing ongoing research and development priorities; and building a culture of unified collaboration and cooperation between governments and private entities.

“It is my hope that the world’s aviation community implements the framework proposed in this paper, to better safeguard and ensure the future of aviation," Albaugh said. Only a vigilant, unified, and coordinated approach will allow us to craft the best possible defenses against the sophisticated and ever-evolving range of threats we face. This will require that we reach beyond the aerospace industry, and incorporate experts on the front line of the cyber threat to, as well as those from industry sectors who support the avionics and communications systems that enable a seamless aerospace system, in order to establish our best possible defenses against the threat.”

FMI: www.aiaa.org/AviationCybersecurity