Avionics News November 2022 - 38

A SystemX ecosystem diagram, courtesy of CCX Technologies
CYBERSECURITY 2022
Continued from page 37
" Most hacking today is financially motivated, with tools
such as ransomware and things like that, " explained Patrick
Morrissey, technical fellow for cybersecurity with Collins
Aerospace. " It's just modern-day extortion. Infect a machine
or network so they can control its access and then demand a
ransom. It's nasty business. "
Are private aircraft prime for plundering?
When you're talking about the cabin connectivity side, the
answer is yes and not so much. Yes, they do make an attractive
target for hackers looking to score sensitive corporate or
personal information. And not so much because the movements
of private aircraft are difficult to track.
In today's topsy-turvy world, there's more to an aircraft's
digital booty than just emails and Teams meetings. Now, there's
the valuable information that's generated by the aircraft's digital
avionics or its engines' health monitoring system.
Tracking that data could be an attractive target to a growing
number of cyber scalawags.
" In the past 30 or so years, we've been moving toward
utilizing the benefits of a connected aircraft - the connected
cockpit, cabin and airframe, " Bartolotta said. " One of the biggest
risks today is the aircraft's ARINC 429 data bus standard. It's
an open protocol, which means it can accept messages from
38 avionics news * november 2022
any source without requiring any verification from that source.
Those are vulnerabilities we haven't dealt with in the past.
" For example, earlier this year, EASA issued a SIB (safety
information bulletin) warning of the increased probability of
problems with the Global Navigation Satellite Systems in the
current contest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. So, spoofing and
jamming an aircraft GPS navigation system is a possibility. "
He said that it's not only the aircraft's in-flight connection
that leaves it vulnerable to a cyberattack. Digital systems are
prime targets for tampering when the aircraft is in the shop for
inspections or maintenance. Corporate espionage is alive and
well in the digital era.
Defending the digital flag
As you can well imagine, avionics manufacturers are
prioritizing their efforts to develop systems that are pirate proof.
" With regard to cybersecurity, we are focusing on the security
triad; confidentiality, integrity and availability, " Morrissey
said. " When we engineer systems for security, we focus on the
elements which are exposed to threats.
" In the case of our operational components like avionics and
connectivity, we have to ensure the integrity while supporting
only the requested accessibility of the systems. We have to be
super-focused on the design portion. Any time we introduce a
new product that provides any type of connectivity, we have to
ensure that the box can protect itself. "
An example Morrissey shared was the family of cabin
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