What the Hack Happened to the Flight Deck: Analyzing the Impact of Cyberattacks on Commercial Flight Crews

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a simulator study on the impact of cybersecurity threats on commercial flight crews that has been carried out following a call for tender by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). In particular, spoofing attacks on a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), ACARS attacks on the Flight Management System (FMS), and an attack on the FMS' navigation database were assessed. This assessment was performed in simulator trials using the AVES research simulator of the German Aerospace Center DLR. Type-rated commercial airline pilots were invited under false pretenses to take part in the experiments. Cyberattack scenario elements were developed based on their likelihood and expected safety impact. From these scenario elements operationally relevant scenarios were composed and implemented into AVES. Based on this, trials were conducted and the collected data was analyzed subsequently. This paper is going to present the setup of the study and the results obtained with focus on the flight crews' behavior. The paper concludes with recommendations for mitigating the effects of the identified cyber threats.