An efficient, secure and trusted channel protocol for avionics wireless networks

Avionics networks rely on a set of stringent reliability and safety requirements. In existing deployments, these networks are based on a wired technology, which supports these requirements. Furthermore, this technology simplifies the security management of the network since certain assumptions can be safely made, including the inability of an attacker to access the network, and the fact that it is almost impossible for an attacker to introduce a node into the network. The proposal for Avionics Wireless Networks (AWNs), currently under development by multiple aerospace working groups, promises a reduction in the complexity of electrical wiring harness design and fabrication, a reduction in the total weight of wires, increased customization possibilities, and the capacity to monitor otherwise inaccessible moving or rotating aircraft parts such as landing gear and some sections of the aircraft engines. While providing these benefits, the AWN must ensure that it provides levels of safety that are at minimum equivalent to those offered by the wired equivalent. In this paper, we propose a secure and trusted channel protocol that satisfies the stated security and operational requirements for an AWN protocol. There are three main objectives for this protocol. First, the protocol has to provide the assurance that all communicating entities can trust each other, and can trust their internal (secure) software and hardware states. Second, the protocol has to establish a fair key exchange between all communicating entities so as to provide a secure channel. Finally, the third objective is to be efficient for both the initial start-up of the network and when resuming a session after a cold and/or warm restart of a node. The proposed protocol is implemented and performance measurements are presented based on this implementation. In addition, we formally verify our proposed protocol using CasperFDR.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables, IEEE DAS

Security and performance comparison of different secure channel protocols for Avionics Wireless Networks

The notion of Integrated Modular Avionics (IMA) refers to inter-connected pieces of avionics equipment supported by a wired technology, with stringent reliability and safety requirements. If the inter-connecting wires are physically secured so that a malicious user cannot access them directly, then this enforces (at least partially) the security of the network. However, substituting the wired network with a wireless network - which in this context is referred to as an Avionics Wireless Network (AWN) - brings a number of new challenges related to assurance, reliability, and security. The AWN thus has to ensure that it provides at least the required security and safety levels offered by the equivalent wired network. Providing a wired-equivalent security for a communication channel requires the setting up of a strong, secure (encrypted) channel between the entities that are connected to the AWN. In this paper, we propose three approaches to establish such a secure channel based on (i) pre-shared keys, (ii) trusted key distribution, and (iii) key-sharing protocols. For each of these approaches, we present two representative protocol variants. These protocols are then implemented as part of a demo AWN and they are then compared based on performance measurements. Most importantly, we have evaluated these protocols based on security and operational requirements that we define in this paper for an AWN.Comment: 8 page, 4 images, 2 tables, conference, IEEE DAS

Challenges of security and trust of mobile devices as digital avionics component

Mobile devices are becoming part of modern digital avionics. Mobile devices can be applied to a range of scenarios, from Electronic Flight Bags to maintenance platforms, in order to manage and configure flight information, configure avionics networks or perform maintenance tasks (including offloading flight logs). It can be argued that recent developments show an increased use of personal mobile devices playing an integral part in the digital avionics industry. In this paper, we look into different proposals for integrating mobile devices with various avionics networks -- either as part of the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) or Corporate Owned Personally Enabled (COPE) paradigms. Furthermore, we will evaluate the security and trust challenges presented by these devices in their respective domains. This analysis will also include the issues related to communication between the mobile device and the aircraft network via either wired or wireless channels. Finally, the paper puts forward a set of guidelines with regards to the security and trust issues that might be crucial when enabling mobile devices to be part of aircraft networks.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl

On the Security of the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Protocol

Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) is the communications protocol currently being rolled out as part of next generation air transportation systems. As the heart of modern air traffic control, it will play an essential role in the protection of two billion passengers per year, besides being crucial to many other interest groups in aviation. The inherent lack of security measures in the ADS-B protocol has long been a topic in both the aviation circles and in the academic community. Due to recently published proof-of-concept attacks, the topic is becoming ever more pressing, especially with the deadline for mandatory implementation in most airspaces fast approaching. This survey first summarizes the attacks and problems that have been reported in relation to ADS-B security. Thereafter, it surveys both the theoretical and practical efforts which have been previously conducted concerning these issues, including possible countermeasures. In addition, the survey seeks to go beyond the current state of the art and gives a detailed assessment of security measures which have been developed more generally for related wireless networks such as sensor networks and vehicular ad hoc networks, including a taxonomy of all considered approaches.Comment: Survey, 22 Pages, 21 Figure

Challenges of Implementing Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast in the Nextgen Air Traffic Management System

The Federal Aviation Administration is in the process of replacing the current Air Traffic Management (ATM) system with a new system known as NextGen. Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) is the aircraft surveillance protocol currently being introduced as a part of the NextGen system deployment. The evolution of ADS-B spans more than two decades, with development focused primarily on increasing the capacity of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system and reducing operational costs. Security of the ADS-B communications network has not been a high priority, and the inherent lack of security measures in the ADS-B protocol has come under increasing scrutiny as the NextGen ADS-B implementation deadline draws near. The research conducted in this thesis summarizes the ADS-B security vulnerabilities that have been under recent study. Thereafter, we survey both the theoretical and practical efforts which have been conducted concerning these issues, and review possible security solutions. We create a classification of the ADS-B security solutions considered and provide a ranking of the potential solutions. Finally, we discuss the most compatible approaches available, given the constraints of the current ADS-B communications system and protocol

Securing Real-Time Internet-of-Things

Modern embedded and cyber-physical systems are ubiquitous. A large number of critical cyber-physical systems have real-time requirements (e.g., avionics, automobiles, power grids, manufacturing systems, industrial control systems, etc.). Recent developments and new functionality requires real-time embedded devices to be connected to the Internet. This gives rise to the real-time Internet-of-things (RT-IoT) that promises a better user experience through stronger connectivity and efficient use of next-generation embedded devices. However RT- IoT are also increasingly becoming targets for cyber-attacks which is exacerbated by this increased connectivity. This paper gives an introduction to RT-IoT systems, an outlook of current approaches and possible research challenges towards secure RT- IoT frameworks

Detecting ADS-B Spoofing Attacks using Deep Neural Networks

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) system is a key component of the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) that manages the increasingly congested airspace. It provides accurate aircraft localization and efficient air traffic management and also improves the safety of billions of current and future passengers. While the benefits of ADS-B are well known, the lack of basic security measures like encryption and authentication introduces various exploitable security vulnerabilities. One practical threat is the ADS-B spoofing attack that targets the ADS-B ground station, in which the ground-based or aircraft-based attacker manipulates the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) address (a unique identifier for each aircraft) in the ADS-B messages to fake the appearance of non-existent aircraft or masquerade as a trusted aircraft. As a result, this attack can confuse the pilots or the air traffic control personnel and cause dangerous maneuvers. In this paper, we introduce SODA - a two-stage Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based spoofing detector for ADS-B that consists of a message classifier and an aircraft classifier. It allows a ground station to examine each incoming message based on the PHY-layer features (e.g., IQ samples and phases) and flag suspicious messages. Our experimental results show that SODA detects ground-based spoofing attacks with a probability of 99.34%, while having a very small false alarm rate (i.e., 0.43%). It outperforms other machine learning techniques such as XGBoost, Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine. It further identifies individual aircraft with an average F-score of 96.68% and an accuracy of 96.66%, with a significant improvement over the state-of-the-art detector.Comment: Accepted to IEEE CNS 201

L-band Digital Aeronautical Communications System (LDACS) draft-ietf-raw-ldacs-07

This document provides an overview of the architecture of the L-band Digital Aeronautical Communications System (LDACS), which provides a secure, scalable and spectrum efficient terrestrial data link for civil aviation. LDACS is a scheduled, reliable multi-application cellular broadband system with support for IPv6. LDACS shall provide a data link for IP network-based aircraft guidance. High reliability and availability for IP connectivity over LDACS are therefore essential

Security, privacy and safety evaluation of dynamic and static fleets of drones

Inter-connected objects, either via public or private networks are the near future of modern societies. Such inter-connected objects are referred to as Internet-of-Things (IoT) and/or Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS). One example of such a system is based on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The fleet of such vehicles are prophesied to take on multiple roles involving mundane to high-sensitive, such as, prompt pizza or shopping deliveries to your homes to battlefield deployment for reconnaissance and combat missions. Drones, as we refer to UAVs in this paper, either can operate individually (solo missions) or part of a fleet (group missions), with and without constant connection with the base station. The base station acts as the command centre to manage the activities of the drones. However, an independent, localised and effective fleet control is required, potentially based on swarm intelligence, for the reasons: 1) increase in the number of drone fleets, 2) number of drones in a fleet might be multiple of tens, 3) time-criticality in making decisions by such fleets in the wild, 4) potential communication congestions/lag, and 5) in some cases working in challenging terrains that hinders or mandates-limited communication with control centre (i.e., operations spanning long period of times or military usage of such fleets in enemy territory). This self-ware, mission-focused and independent fleet of drones that potential utilises swarm intelligence for a) air-traffic and/or flight control management, b) obstacle avoidance, c) self-preservation while maintaining the mission criteria, d) collaboration with other fleets in the wild (autonomously) and e) assuring the security, privacy and safety of physical (drones itself) and virtual (data, software) assets. In this paper, we investigate the challenges faced by fleet of drones and propose a potential course of action on how to overcome them.Comment: 12 Pages, 7 Figures, Conference, The 36th IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC'17