Professional Pilot, October 2018

HORIZON Cyber security and other stuff T he mind is a dangerous thing when left to go wandering Hence the following article flits from topic to topic Your indulgence is requested Well start with cyber security in aviation It has been estimated that cyber crime is generating 15 trillion in annual revenue To put this in perspective airlines in total generate some 750 billion each year But even more alarming is that hacker organizations are actually investing in R D and operating more like companies than criminal enterprises This seems especially true where the countries of origin either tacitly approve of or are actively supportive of the hacker activity Hacking is not just about scamming money from people and stealing data from organizations It is also about disruption of processes and operations For example not long ago Danish shipping conglomerate Maersk was hacked and a good deal of data wiped out This led to serious delays at major ports such as Rotterdam Mumbai and New York and New Jersey and the temporary shutdown of the largest terminal at the Port of Los Angeles I dont know about you but I am aware at some level of hacker activity malware wiperware and the likes Although it doesnt invade my daily thoughts heres where we need to pay attention If you can see the internet the internet can see you When viewed this way YIKES Aviation is vulnerable to hacking Is aviation vulnerable You bet your Uncle Bob Not only that but because aviation has so many possible entrées for snatching data it is a great target for hackers Just think about 14 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2018 the fact that airlines process millions of passengers through their reservations systems each day The connectivity now goes way beyond a simple 1 time ordering of tickets to encompass e mail and SMS notifications online check in flight status report et cetera Once out of the reservations systems these same passengers are boarding flights and some are tapping into the airlines onboard WiFi In theory if that WiFi has been hacked then so too have the 100 or so devices connected to it on that flight If those 100 laptops have been infected they can then spread the infection to any system they connect to once off the plane The above just scratches the surface Think about aircraft manufacturers and their connectivity to their supply chain The linkage between Boeing for example and its vendors is becoming greater each day and as such represents an opportunity for a hacker to breech anyone along the supply chain and potentially reach all along that chain Now contemplate the fact that MRO is becoming ever more reliant on storing and using computer generated data Whats more newer systems are connecting a plane to a computer to exchange data in real time It doesnt take too much imagination to conceive of the amount and importance of the data a hacker with evil intent could obtain from this stream of information Bizav can be hacked also Lest you think private air travel insulates you from these exposures better go OOPS You could not be more wrong WiFi has become commonplace in corporate and private planes and again if you can see the internet the internet can see you But even absent overall connectivity in the plane there is plenty of room for exposure A passenger bringing an infected laptop on board or even a corrupted flash drive provides a path for a hacker to see and steal information By Bob Rockwood Managing Partner Bristol Associates A connected aircraft is vulnerable to cyber attacks and business aviation is no exception Hiring outside services from companies like Satcom Direct or establishing an in house department has become essential for air travel service providers trying to keep their data safe at all times