15.air Security (Dr. John Sutherland)

Network Security and
Airline Data Networks
Presented by
Dr. John Sutherland
Who am I ?
 Network Security consultant for several

Fortune 500 (Boeing, Microsoft,
Starbucks, Deloitte & Touche, etc…)
 PhD in Computer Science
 Several Certifications: CISSP, CISM,

CBCP, CCNA, MCSE, MCT, GSEC,
etc…
Acronyms
 ADN – Aircraft Data Network
 ACARS - Aircraft Communications Addressing and
Reporting System
 AOC – Airline Operational Control or Airline Operations
Center
 LAN – Local Area Network
 RF – Radio Frequency
 COTS – Commercial off the shelf
 RTCA - Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics
 ARINC - Aeronautical Radio, Inc.
 EUROCAE - European Organisation for Civil Aviation
Equipment (regulatory agency for certifying aviation equipment in Europe)
What are we talking about ?
 Aircraftdata networks
 Traditionally have used radio links, future
is broadband TCP/IP based
 Wireless hacking
ACARS - An Example
 ACARS (Aircraft Communications

Addressing and Reporting System)
messages are transferred over open RF
channels in human readable forms.
 Vulnerability: Low cost easily available
equipment to view sensitive aircraft data
How to view ACARS Data
PC with free
ACARS decoder
software
Radio Scanner
Vietnam Airlines tracked via ACARS
Reg IATA/ICAO Sign Aircraft type Flightnumber last contacts (max 30)
VN-A150 VN / HVN B777-2Q8 (ER) VN0532 08. Dec 2006 18:08

VN-A345 VN / HVN A321-231 VN0941 08. Dec 2006 03:09
VN-A345 VN / HVN A321-231 000000 08. Dec 2006 02:47
VN-A143 VN / HVN B777-26K (ER) VN0951 08. Dec 2006 02:33
VN-A144 VN / HVN B777-2K6 (ER) VN0968 07. Dec 2006 23:11
VN-A345 VN / HVN A321-231 VN0940 07. Dec 2006 22:41
Why be concerned?
 2002 wireless LAN systems
• Denver International Airport and San Jose
International Airport.
 American Airlines Inc.
• totally in the clear without any encryption
 American's curbside check-in operations
could be monitored
 Southwest's networks were issuing
information from back-end systems….
* IDG article, January 18, 2002. Wireless LANs: Trouble in the air By Bob Brewin, Dan
Verton and Jennifer Disabatino
Why be concerned? (cont.)
 Joe Weiss, Vice President ARINC
 Unprotected wireless LAN could allow access
to core airline operational systems
• flight operations, bag matching and passenger
reservations
• (Flight operations systems manage such vital functions
as refueling, maintenance and flight dispatch)
 Possible compromise: Indicate luggage
belongs to someone on the flight when it really
doesn’t
E-enabled
 Means connectivity to real-time high speed Internet and/or
airline networks to increase efficiency and speed of
communications for passengers and crew
 New generation aircraft will include a new Aircraft Data

Network design which will introduce new cyber security
vulnerabilities to the aircraft
 Cabin Network application software crew & maintenance

use 802.11 on handheld and laptops
•Airbus A380 entered production 2002 and the planned first

flight was 2006.
* Boeing 787 plans to enter production in 2007 and the
planned first flight is 2008
ADN A rc hit ectiure
802.11 Broadband
(Gatelink or other)
ADN
gateway IFE
802.11
Aircraft 802.11
Controls
Passenger
Cabin
Crew Devices
Services
Devices
VHF/HF Radio
Maintenance
SATCOM
Laptop
Power, Weight, Volume
& Flight Certification
 Can’t put everything we want on an

airplane
 Must maximize the security features of
existing network equipment
 Power, weight & volume limitations
 Solution is integrated software solutions

prevail (firewall software, etc…)
Wireless networking security
 On aircraft no different than Internet café or

airline club,…
 Security of customers personal laptops is
their responsibility
 Initially a legal issue that concerned airlines
 Can’t stop bad people from doing bad things
 Contributing factors, layovers, cancelled
flights, 12 hour flight to California, etc…
Wireless anywhere…everywhere
 Wireless at 30,000 feet

 Can it interfere with flight deck controls, navigation,
other ?
 Mobile banking….from cell phones
• Bill payments
• Online purchases
 Hacking/Security is major concern
Legal Issues related to hacking
 In 2006 about 230 Vietnamese government & private enterprises
were compromised by foreign hackers
 Recent case: the defacing of the Ministry of Education & Training
Web site , student replaced minister’s picture with his own (27 Nov
2006)
 Punishment…is it illegal?
 Within Vietnam’s borders vs. outside Vietnam
 Extradition
• Bi-lateral agreements (with 192+ countries/entities)
• Or Multi-lateral
 UK treats hackers as terrorists
• Terrorism Act 2000
Do hackers provide a benefit?
 Improving software by pointing out

security holes (if your front door was
unlocked….)
 Informationwants to be free!
 Bottom line….
….They are criminals

Why do Hackers hack?
 Economic
 Political or social agenda
• “Hactivism”
• their aim is to vandalize high-profile
computers to make a statement
 Boredom is the root of all evil
• some do it for the sheer thrill
 State sponsored – Information Warfare
Dangerous person?
The First Internet Worm
 Robert Tappan Morris, Jr.
• Graduate student at Cornell
• Released worm onto Internet in 1988
• When caught (due to a bug in the program), he claimed he was
just testing how long it would take for a worm to travel through the
network
 Effect of worm
• Spread to 6,000 Unix computers
• Infected computers kept crashing or became unresponsive
• Took a day for fixes to be published
 Even after fixes were released, it took many system
administrators a lot of time to eradicate the worm.
 It was estimated that the cost of repair for the damage
caused by the worm at each system ranged from $200
to more than $53,000.
The First Internet Worm – results
 Impact on Morris
• Suspended from Cornell
• 3 years’ probation + 400 hours community service
• Tried under the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
• Had $150,000 in legal fees and fines
• Later finished his PhD in CS and is now associate
professor at MIT
 He is the son of Robert Morris, the former chief

scientist at the National Computer Security Center, a
division of the National Security Agency (NSA).
Conclusion
 Next generation of airplanes will utilize
TCP/IP based networks
 Security is a concern for airlines as well as all
organizations that utilize e-commerce
 International organizations need to cooperate
ARINC, RTCA, EUROCAE…for airlines
 Cooperation needed between ASEAN,
European Union, United States, etc…
 Education of users

15.air Security (Dr. John Sutherland)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

15.air Security (Dr. John Sutherland)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Network Security and

Airline Data Networks

 Network Security consultant for several

 Several Certifications: CISSP, CISM,

 ACARS (Aircraft Communications

VN-A150 VN / HVN B777-2Q8 (ER) VN0532 08. Dec 2006 18:08

 New generation aircraft will include a new Aircraft Data

 Cabin Network application software crew & maintenance

•Airbus A380 entered production 2002 and the planned first

 Can’t put everything we want on an

 Solution is integrated software solutions

 On aircraft no different than Internet café or

 Wireless at 30,000 feet

 Improving software by pointing out

….They are criminals

 He is the son of Robert Morris, the former chief

You might also like