Industry vouches for resilient cyber-system in aerospace

RITIKA SHARMA / EMIRATES BUSINESS

Cyber threats constitute some of the major challenges that aviation and aerospace industry is facing globally. Industry experts put emphasis upon dealing with them by adopting a cutting-edge scientific outlook.
“Aviation industry has seen so many transformations in the past few decades. Last few years have seen a fast progression in terms of cyber threats — from being mere individual attacks in the past; they have become more and more state-sponsored now. It is high time that we start adopting a wholesome approach while dealing with them,” said Eric Eifert, senior vice president, managed security services, Dark Matter. Stakeholders from various industries, directly or indirectly related to aviation, had gathered in Abu Dhabi on Monday to participate in the much-awaited Global Aerospace Summit.
The experts proposed during the summit that cross industry collaborations and a scientific approach towards the cyber threats are needed in order to avoid the huge losses that they can incur to airlines worldwide.
Hoda A. Alkhzaimi, head of cyber security and cryptography department, Emirates Technology Innovation Center (ETIC), stressed that experts from different fields should be involved for more fool-proof security systems.
“We have to look beyond the regular IT experts and think of cyber security as a full-fledged science stream. Therefore, we need more scientists, specialized in diverse subjects, on board at all levels.
“It (cyber threats) should not be something that we look at when it happens, we must rather look at creating such a system that could ensure remedial measures beforehand,” said Alkhzaimi.
“There has to be collaboration between experts from aerospace industry and the cyber-intelligence sector,” she added.
Unarmed Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and automation in aerospace industry have increased the vulnerability of enterprises, causing a surge in the number of cyber-attack incidents, experts maintained.
“The kind of speed with which the aerospace industry is embracing the concept of automation is something to watch out for. There is an urgent need for paying attention towards creating secure cyber-systems,” stated Venn Boyle, Vice President – cyber and advanced progressing advanced concepts and technology, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.