Security in Avionics Systems

The growing threat of cybersecurity attacks in communication systems is an increasing problem in society. The avionics industry cannot ignore the fact that the threats are real and they must protect systems from these attacks. One of the driving concerns is the implementation of the FAA’s NextGen or EASA’s SESAR technologies which will require avionics vendors to replace their proprietary, relatively isolated embedded computer systems with information systems that interoperate and share data throughout FAA’s/EASA’s operations.

Another concern is the emerging urban air mobility (UAM) market that needs to communicate with ground systems. To make the National Airspace (NAS) operate in the most efficient way, all aircraft and ground systems will need to share information in securely. This talk will discuss how to protect avionics system from cybersecurity attacks.

Topics covered include:
•    Overview of security specifications
•    Review of security threat categories (threats/problems)
•    Security system components
•    Data security

Speaker

Gary Gilliland

Vice President - Marketing, DDC-I

Gary Gilliland has over 30 years of experience in the development and marketing of hardware and software solutions for embedded systems, with extensive experience in both military and commercial avionics. A graduate of the University of Texas at Arlington, with a degree in electrical engineering, Gary was previously Technical Marketing Manager at DDC-I, where he has been responsible for product development, technical marketing, partner relationships and customer facing technical support with special expertise integrating Deos in avionics systems.

Prior to joining DDC-I, Gary was responsible for business development at LynuxWorks for the DO-178 product, managed Technical Marketing and field sales engineers. Prior to LynuxWorks Gary held engineering management and engineering positions developing commercial and military embedded systems for aerospace and defense applications at Honeywell, Lockheed Missiles and Space and LTV Aerospace and Defense.