The FAA lacks real-time tools to detect and combat spectrum-based cyberattacks—including spectrum interference, spoofing, and jamming—against aircraft communications in the National Airspace System (NAS), according to a Government Accountability Office report published this week. Without real-time tools, the FAA can investigate attacks only after they are reported, the GAO noted.
Notably, the GAO found vulnerabilities in aircraft communications addressing and reporting system (ACARS) and controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC) messages, the text-based systems pilots, airlines, and air traffic controllers can use to exchange flight plans, clearances, and other operational information. Because the two systems generally lack encryption and authentication, the GAO said messages can be intercepted, spoofed, or blocked through denial-of-service attacks. “A malicious actor could transmit fraudulent clearance cancellations, possibly leading to flight delays or safety issues,” the report states.
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