CYBER ATTACK ON AVIATION -A THREAT WORSE THAN 9/11?

Concerns are on the rise in Israel, and internationally, over cyber attacks against aviation systems and planes, particularly with an upsurge in the number of internet-connected airliners. There are fears that hackers may be able to use the internet to take control of planes remotely.

Owing to onboard and off board computer systems, navigation systems and prevalent use of data networks, cyber attacks and data breaches are perceived to be growing threats for the aviation sector.

The introduction of in-flight entertainment systems where people have access to a digital system on board a plane, providing some computer freedom, provides an additional point of access for a cyber attack said David Mimran, CTO of the cyber center at Ben Gurion University in the Negev. “A shared infrastructure is a great security risk”. As in the case of Chris Roberts, a computer expert, who managed to access some of the avionics through the entertainment system on a United Airlines flight.

Cyber terrorists could carry out an attack on aviation by gaining access to the computer systems of control towers and aircraft. As a result, the scheduled timetables of aircraft and airport administrative systems could be shut down, security measures suspended, and information manipulated between the control tower and the aircraft.

Potential targets for cyber attacks that exist within internal airport operations include radar systems, wireless and wired network systems, supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)-type ICSs

“The next 9/11 will be caused by computer hackers infiltrating aircraft controls, not suicide bombers”, cyber expert Dr. Gabi Siboni warns.

According to Siboni, a colonel in the Israel Defense Forces Reserves, and the director of the Cyber Security Program at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, terror groups could disrupt and possibly infiltrate aircraft causing deadly accidents and bringing flight systems to a standstill.

“The aviation industry is facing three layers of threats from cyber attacks” Siboni said – the first one is the internal information systems such as booking systems, flight operation, and internal systems that include training and information about frequent flyers. “In this respect the aviation industry will not be that different from any other corporate body” he added.

The second domain threats would be related to the specific environment of aviation – the issue of air traffic control. This is a global issue which is related to the communication between the control tower and the aircraft.

The third domain is related to the actual aircraft and the systems within the aircraft which are controlled by sensors which include fuel levels, temperature indicators.

Andrew Ginter, VP of Israel-based Waterfall Security Solutions, spoke about how Waterfall’s Unidirectional Security Gateways protect against cyber attacks on aircraft control systems by eliminating the use of firewalls. Modern aircraft host several connected networks. “Conventional thinking for protecting one network from another still focuses on firewalls and encryption” he said. Unidirectional Gateways system replaces firewalls. It is often packaged as two boxes. One box contains a fiber-optic transmitter, but physically contains no receiver logic. The box can transmit information, but is physically unable to receive any optical signal. There is no hardware in the transmitter box to turn any optical signal back into electricity. The second box has a fiber-optic receiver but has no laser, and so is physically able to receive an optical signal, but is unable to send anything back. A short fiber-optic cable connects the two.

Together, this unidirectional system can send information from the aircraft’s navigation systems into the entertainment network so that passengers know location, height, speed and ETA information, for example. That information is sent into the entertainment system without any danger of the aircraft’s control systems being compromised by anything on the entertainment network. This technology is already deployed in some of the most modern aircraft. Ginter expressed concern about “cloud control systems,” where equipment and software vendors set up systems in the cloud with connections to aircraft navigation and control systems. For example, aircraft manufacturers are able to send changes to aircraft systems in flight, potentially making aircraft vulnerable to attacks via connections to a vendor, if ever that vendor’s systems are compromised.

According to an industry expert, the IAA is taking major steps to secure their data. They do not interact with anyone. Up until today the infrastructure is very secluded and virtually impenetrable.

From an air traffic control angle, Israel is expected to join EuroControl in 2016. From a cyber standpoint it would be able to interface with the rest of the EuroControl IT infrastructure posing new high risk challenges for the Israeli ATC/ATM infrastructure.