Today, November 9, 2016, in Bucharest, the European action plan for stopping cyber attacks on the aeronautical field was decided. During the international conference "High Level Meeting Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation" organized by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the Romanian Civil Aviation Authority (AACR), in cooperation with the Committee on Transport and Infrastructure of the Chamber of Deputies, the main decision makers in ensuring safety flights and the aeronautics industry have set the roadmap for the common fight against cybercrime.
Given the rapidly evolving nature of cyber threats, the issue of cyber security has become a priority for most states, in this regard specialized bodies have been created at national, EU and NATO levels, which take steps to regulate the development of cyber defense mechanisms.
Thus, today was the start of a close cooperation, materialized by the establishment of joint working groups including IT specialists and specialists in aviation safety and security, to generate an action plan in the field of aviation to strengthen cooperation, implementation shared knowledge, information and expertise to increase the cyber resilience of Europe and the world. “Aviation needs quality, affordable and interoperable cyber security products and services. The possibility to be proactively integrated in the global system of protection and assurance of cyber security, represents a major opportunity for the profile sector in the EU ", said the director of the Romanian Civil Aviation Authority, Armand Petrescu.
Statistics show that more than 1,000 cyber attacks have been reported this year, impacting the aviation industry globally on a monthly basis. Also, according to a recent survey, at least 80% of European companies have faced one or more cyber security incidents in the last year, and the number of security incidents in all economic sectors has increased globally by 38%. in 2015. This situation affects European companies, regardless of size, and threatens to undermine confidence in the economy.
Lately, in the field of aviation, cybercriminals are becoming more and more skilled and motivated. Air traffic control and management infrastructure, airport facilities and systems, as well as aircraft are becoming the target of cyber attacks. Given the importance of the components of the aeronautical sector, some facilities, infrastructures and services being part of the national or European critical infrastructure, protection against cyber threats plays a key role in ensuring the stability of the civil aviation system.
The latest polls show that 85% of executives in the aviation industry consider cybersecurity a significant issue (25% more than the average for other sectors). 91% of companies are considering investments in cybersecurity in the next 3 years, with investments at the end of 2016 amounting to USD 1.86 billion.
Given these figures, EASA and national authorities, line ministries, along with other international aviation and industry fora, must have decided to prepare for the management of these increasingly sophisticated and borderless cyber attacks.
The forum was attended by leading representatives of the European Union, NATO, EUROCONTROL, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the European Network Security Agency (ENISA), the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC), Romanian specialists and foreigners in the fight against cybercrime (CERT.EU, CERT.RO), as well as representatives of the European industry.
For our country, this meeting is important both by holding it in Bucharest and by the decisions taken at the end of this meeting. The start in the multifunctional cooperation demonstrates Romania's capacities to provide the necessary levers to strengthen the dialogue at the highest level between the authorities with responsibilities in the field of aviation and those with responsibilities in the field of cyber security, in order to maintain security standards in civil aviation.
AACR Public Relations