Civil aviation is rapidly embracing newer technologies to enable operations to be more efficient. However, ease of use and data availability in civil aviation may pose potential cybersecurity risks to the industry with international implications.

On August 7, 2015, it was disclosed that the databases of American Airlines (AA) and Sabre Corp., one of the largest clearing houses for travel reservations, were hacked. Taken together with the hacking of United Airlines in July 2015, this revelation shows that the civil aviation industry is increasingly prone to cyberattacks, and contains cybersecurity lapses that need to be addressed.

However, passenger data theft may just be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to cybersecurity in the civil aviation sector. Revenues in the industry top US$388 billion, presenting a tempting target for potential cyber criminals. Revenue streams are not the only target for hackers. The civil aviation industry is also a treasure trove of data, with flight data and personal data being collected by both the airlines and regulators’ servers.

… Eugene EG Tan is an Associate Research Fellow at the Centre of Excellence for National Security (CENS), a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.