Aviation: An overview through technological aspect

Sushali Shruti

ICFAI University, Dehradun

The world is experiencing dynamic changes in every sphere of life. The pace of technological
progress is now integrated to every sector, whether it is real estate, retail, health, finance, or
aviation1. The world of technology has more growth reconnoitre for future. Hereby, each and
every field is willing to invest in technology, which will align investors with innovation and
evolvement. There are certainly both pros and cons to shady tech world. It is obvious that
technology is not an easy go for novice as well as veterans, also the consequences brought along
remains dubious in nature2.

Enunciating about the aviation sector, it has also been galvanized with the kahuna of digital
space. It is indeed keeping updated with the latest trends and demands, and trying its best to
provide supreme quality customer care service. The 21st century has reduced the communication
gap between individuals and identified methods through which the concept of globalization can
be cherished. The need for effective transportation and communication technologies has
significantly accelerated the aviation industry to grow enormously. Aviation supports 65.5
million jobs globally, and also sanctions $ 2.7 trillion in exhaustive GDP3.

Aviation is considered to be one of the major industries which is swayed by technology. The
structure of an aircraft itself is a vivid example of the engineering which is designed in such a
way that it assimilates the required safety norms, need for information technology, concept of
aeronautics, comfortability and customer satisfaction4.

The duad of Aviation and Technology

The year 2019 experienced the collaboration of Internet of Things, (IoT) and aviation. IoT is
basically a process through which one can tether objects in the real world by the use of Internet5.

The potential changes brought through IoT had prioritized safety and maintenance, reduced
aircraft downtime, a periodic analysis of an aircraft and its parts to be shown to pilot and cabin

1
The growth of Technology ( Nov 4th, 2019 ), https://industrytoday.com/the-growth-of-technology/
2
Ibid
3
Social and economic benefits of Aviation ( 2018 ), https://www.atag.org/our-activities/social-and-economic-
benefits-of-aviation.html
4
The impact of emerging technologies on Airline industry, https://w3.accelya.com/blog/the-impact-of-emerging-
technologies-on-airline-service-delivery
5
Ibid
crew on board, more connectivity between the mechanical staffs and aircraft and so on. The
ground crew has access to aircraft in flight and can communicate during impromptu issues
regarding the solution. Thus, this will overall improve the performance of an active aircraft6.

The cargo services and baggage handling can also be easily refined by enabling location
transmitters, that are capable of trumpeting the whereabouts of the baggage 7. This makes it
convenient to find out the missing baggage, and also helpful in knowing the real time location of
the cargo aircrafts.

Further, cloud computing has been introduced to aviation industry, through which IT experts and
investors could provide necessary resources to the aircraft accordingly. This makes a flexible
workflow in the airline industry as everyone is priorly informed about the upcoming demands
which could worked upon systematically.

Threats to Aviation Security:

While technology has enhanced the airlines, it has also brought difficulty to the same. With more
and more advancements, the criminals are identifying several illegal ways to disturb and corrupt
the aviation sector. The major issues like geopolitical posturing or even hijacking and terrorist
attacks, which are a new normal to aircraft passengers, aviation becomes the top industry in
driving itself to cyber risks on global frontline.

Considering, airways is the fastest and safest mode of communication, the extensive increase in
the incidents happenings globally has impacted the public negatively and they are more alert.
The widespread international regulatory frameworks have been established to work on this.

Cyberattacks are also trending in the aviation industry. Air Canada, in August 2018 had reported
a breach of personal data of more than 20,000 people 8. This was experienced again in September
in by British Airways, affecting a total of 380,000 people. The Bristol Airport, in 2018 was
forced to shut down the electronic flight information screens against the ransomware style attack.

6
Ibid
7
Ibid
8
Cyberattacks in the Aviation Industry, https://avlaw.com.au/cyberattacks-aviation-industry/
The Airport acted smartly and swapped the same with white boards and flights were unaffected 9.
There were airport attacks witnessed at Brussels and Istanbul, in June 201610.

A survey stated that out of 100, only 35% of airlines and 30% of airports respectively presume
themselves to be immune to cyber risks11.

A virtual spying operation, in 2013 badly affected 75 US airports, which was a result of an
advanced tenacious threat attack12.

LATAM Airlines, in 2017 was encrypted by WannaCry and experienced a devastating

ransomware attack where the organization was asked to recover the data, and later Ukraine’s
International Airport lost all its access to data and system control to NotPetya13.

The Istanbul Airport, in 2013 was forced to shut down due to a cyberattack and the passport
control system was completely affected. Passengers had to wait in que for several hours, at the
departure terminal14.

This amalgamation of digital as well as physical phenomenon will build up new difficulties to
cope up with. The regularized magnitude needed to destroy any industry with huge
preponderance is proportional to blending of virtual and physical world. This will increase more
isolated attackers to sit at a particular place and create a havoc, globally15.

Majority of enabled systems which are used in the aviation sector are potential of getting hacked
smoothly. The passport control system, the access to control management systems, the arrival
and departure control system, the on-board passengers check control system, the flight traffic
control, the reservation system and even cloud-based aviation data storage, everything is
recorded through a computer and data is stored. From the time, a person books a flight ticket till

9
Cyber Security in the Aviation Sector, https://cyberriskinternational.com/2020/04/06/cyber-threats-to-the-aviation-
industry/
10
Ibid
11
Ibid
12
Why are airports vulnerable to cyberattacks? , http://www2.paconsulting.com/rs/526-HZE-
833/images/PA_Airport%20Cyber%20Security%20Report.pdf
13
Ibid
14
Ibid
15
Ibid
the time he receives a feedback form through the airline post journey, the electronic medium
plays a vital role with every process16. The cargo handling, shipping and accessing its location is
done digitally.

The industry is planning to popularize the automated pilot function, also known as the auto-pilot
mode, for speedy and human free services 17. The recent death of a Tesla driver while using auto-
pilot mode on has slightly deviated them from doing so.

Impacts on the Airline Industry

The consequences of such threats have a fatal impact on the reliance of customer over the
company. The necessary measures should be taken to protect the critical customer information,
which includes credit cards numbers, bank account details and much more.

Airports can be considered a medium to threat intelligence of any country, as they are generally
linked to different government organizations which provide access to them regarding certain
obligations.

The more use of computers would result in less human interference. Humans would be required
only in an emergency situation. But, this irregularity in practice and application of skills would
make it difficult to cope up with such an emergency situation and eventually lead to a disaster.

The Revolution Required

 Conducting a holistic and systematic cyber-security risk assessment during early stages
would be beneficial for an airline.

 The companies should come up with potential ideas and solutions by an attacker’s
perspective more than of a defender. The researchers must look on the understanding of
the nature and contributing factors with respect to the United States attacks of Sept 11 th ,
2001.

16
Ibid
17
Ibid
  Depending totally on the computers is an awful decision. A routine manual analysis is
required for smooth workflow and preparedness for a crisis like condition. The
communication between the air traffic control tower and aircraft in air is rapidly shifting
away from the conventional radio voice communications towards data-link technologies.

 Security concerns is one thing which cannot be overlooked. There must be a proper usage
of VPN function on the Airport itself, and any unusual digital activity near around the
area must be investigated.

 The large number of investors in any organization makes it complex to fix any situation
as everyone keeps on neglecting the prime issue. Hereby, it is necessary to create a
separate management team who shall look after every minute issues regarding the
security and safety standards of the airline.

 The border-security framework shall also be amended at times, as the same law for any
particular place could be easily identified by any hacker, using skillful methods.

 Less usage of Hyper-connectivity, and focusing more on a robust security architecture, as

the former provide a potential attack surface for cyber criminals to exploit and
conclusively they might affect multiple stakeholders and passengers.

Conclusion

The flourishing technologies has aided the aviation industry immensely. There is an ease in
providing traditional services and it has also enhanced the client-experience with new
supplementary services. Humans are both a strong and weak links when referring to cyber
security. A proper cyber security in every sector is required with a detailed guideline regarding
the same to avoid further cyberattacks. The call for awareness and understanding the importance
to know cyber security is a need of the hour, as it will empower individuals and organizations
both to identify suspicious activity happening in cyber space around them. It has been observed
that the physical security checks at any airport is very strong and kosher, and a similar safety
culture with respect to cyber security is what the aviation demands at the very moment.
Reference:

1. The growth of Technology ( Nov 4th, 2019 ), https://industrytoday.com/the-growth-of-technology/

2. Social and economic benefits of Aviation ( 2018 ), https://www.atag.org/our-activities/social-and-
economic-benefits-of-aviation.html
3. The impact of emerging technologies on Airline industry, https://w3.accelya.com/blog/the-
impact-of-emerging-technologies-on-airline-service-delivery
4. Cyberattacks in the Aviation Industry, https://avlaw.com.au/cyberattacks-aviation-industry/
5. Cyber Security in the Aviation Sector, https://cyberriskinternational.com/2020/04/06/cyber-
threats-to-the-aviation-industry/
6. Why are airports vulnerable to cyberattacks? , http://www2.paconsulting.com/rs/526-HZE-
833/images/PA_Airport%20Cyber%20Security%20Report.pdf