Embracing aviation security culture - cyber training raises awareness and capacity-building

Threats against aviation aren’t new, new is the more frequent and sophisticated malpractice of cyberattacks. The course provides an overview of cyber broken down into different modules:

Simply put, all attempts via cyberspace targeting the air transport sector for the purpose of disrupting, disabling, destroying, or maliciously controlling a system can be classified as cyberattacks. With more and more automation, and a high increase in dependency on information technology, and a system of systems,  aviation may be deemed to be vulnerable to cyber threats, be it by hackers, cybercriminals or cyber terrorists.

It is interesting to refer to the 9/11 events, and what the industry could learn from this in relation to cyber. After 9/11, there was a Commission set up to identify possible failures in aviation security. It noted that the failure of the industry to ‘imagine’ future threats meant that as a result, training and capabilities will not be developed, and management will not be trained. This, in my opinion, is applicable to cyber, and it would be in the interest of the industry as a whole for organisations in the aviation industry to invest in training and capability development.

In my opinion, cyber is indeed a real threat to the aviation industry and it would be difficult to deny this. Terrorists and those who want to attack the industry may be deemed to be one step ahead and this is why as an industry we should have a preventive approach rather than a reactive approach. And this is even more so because aviation will always be an appealing target for those who want to attack.

Aviation organisations should take a proactive approach regarding cyber security, With an emphasis on the human element in order to be aware of cyber security hygiene, with regard to passwords for example, as well as best practices, and this to achieve an over cyber security culture, where the effort of each individual matters to the organisation.

So it is important for organisations in the aviation industry to invest in training their employees in order to ensure awareness and capacity-building which are key to fostering and promoting a cyber security culture. As a result, creating such a cyber security culture would result in one of the most valuable assets in the company which would be a critical core value with cyber security being everyone's responsibility.

Organisations can build a first line of defence through training and capacity building of their personnel, across all levels of the organisation, be it management, IT and security, which in turn would foster an inherent value in each individual, creating a cyber security culture. This is because the human element is extremely important when we speak about cyber security and cyber resilience, and it becomes the first line of defence.

Aviation is evolving towards a higher dependency on digitalisation and systems interconnection, a system of systems. During this course, we look at various attacks aviation has seen through cyber in order to highlight the need for aviation to achieve a level of resilience, and this through not only the technical infrastructure that a company required, but also training and capacity-building for personnel which is important at all levels of the company, be it management, security, IT, and other personnel. This is important to foster a cyber security culture and increase cyber security resilience.