Partnership in cybersecurity: A matter of urgency

All aviation actors now agree that it is urgent to collaborate on cybersecurity.  At the High Level Conference on Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation which we organized in Krakow (Poland) last month with the Polish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Polish Civil Aviation Authority, the participants coming from airlines, ground handlers, aircraft manufacturers, equipment suppliers and authorities declared a significant increase in the number of cyber-attacks and threats on the aviation system and the need to increase partnership.

One of the key elements for a more effective approach to cybersecurity threats is to stop thinking safety on one hand and security on the other as both are more and more interlinked.

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The European Union Cybersecurity agency, ENISA, in interview

The European Union Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA) is a centre of expertise for cyber security in Europe, what is your role?

ENISA, the European Union Cybersecurity agency, is a center of expertise that supports Member States in enhancing their cybersecurity posture. ENISA is facilitating the MS in the implementation of relevant regulation (NIS Directive, eIDas regulation, Article 13a etc); is investing on national capabilities through trainings and exercises (e.g. Cyber Europe, Cybersecurity Challenge) and finally is providing guidelines on the most important emerging technical topics (e.g. Blockchain, IoT security).

In 2016, ENISA published a study on "Securing smart airports" providing airport decision makers and security personnel with a start-up kit to prevent possible attacks and implement available good practices, in order to secure passengers and operations.  In 2017, ENISA is cooperating with EASA on building cyber security awareness in aviation. In this respect, EASA, the European Aviation Safety Agency, in collaboration with ENISA, hosted the first ENISA training on cybersecurity in aviation on the 20th and 21st of November in Brussels. ENISA’s future work in the field aims in enhancing the security and resilience of air transport in Europe together with all relevant key stakeholders and agencies.

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High Level Conference on Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation: Krakow Declaration

During 8-9 November 2017, the Krakow Conference on Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation took place with the attendance of 260 participants. The event was organised by, the Polish Civil Aviation Authority and EASA, sponsored by the Polish Prime Minister and the Polish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between EASA and the Polish CAA for the pilot phase of the European Centre for Cybersecurity in aviation on 8 November 2017.

This High Level Conference offered the possibility to further develop discussion held in previous conferences, in particular the High level conference on Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation held in November 2016 in Bucharest, which called for an EU strategic coordination on the subject.

In response to this, the European Strategic Coordination Platform (ESCP) on cybersecurity in aviation has been then established in the 2017 and started its “Engagement Phase”. This year, participating organisations are finalising its Charter and coordinating the work on Cybersecurity in Aviation strategy and regulatory needs.

At the conference in Krakow, EASA recalled this achievement and took the chance to propose objectives common to all aviation stakeholders, as well as to explore synergies with other transport means, in view of an integrated multimodal transport dimension. The main objective is not only to engage all stakeholders in a fair and non-discriminatory frame, but establishing a resilient European transport system and creating the largest level playing field in the world on cybersecurity.

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Information sharing is essential. ECCSA, through its news watch service, regularly scrapes about 4.000 websites to find out news relevant for cybersecurity in aviation

Latest News

19 December 2017: EASA informs airlines and passengers about how to fly safely with Portable Electronic Devices containing Lithium Batteries

15 December 2017: Memorandum of cooperation signed between EASA and ECHA

13 December 2017: Entry into force of the European Common Aviation Area (ECAA) Agreement

23 November 2017: Easy Access Rules for ATM/ANS published!

21 November 2017: EASA certifies Airbus A350-1000

7 November 2017: EASA addresses aviation’s impact on climate change

24 October 2017: Harmonised Software EASA AMC and FAA AC 20-115D have been published!

19 October 2017: EASA’s sixth International Cooperation Forum enhances global discourse

11 October 2017: EASA inaugurates Singapore office

Pilatus Obtains PC-24 Type Certificates, congratulations!
On 7th December the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) handed over the Type Certificates for the PC-24 and thus concluded concurrently EASA Type Certification and FAA Validation at the same time.
This remarkable achievement represents an important milestone not only for Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. as this means deliveries to customers are now going ahead, but also for us as this is the first ever developed Part 23 Commuter Jet for which the EASA is the Certifying Authority and also OSD considered from beginning.

The official press release can be found in the manufacturer site here

Upcoming Events

25 January 2018: Review meeting on draft AMC/GM for Part-DTO (declared training organisations)

6 March 2018: Workshop on Use of training devices including FSTDs

21 June 2018: Workshops (focused consultation) on balloon licensing requirements (‘rulebooks’)

28 June 2018: Workshop (focused consultation) on sailplane licensing requirements (‘rulebooks’)

Details on these and other upcoming EASA News & Events are available here.

The EASA team wishes you a merry Christmas and good start in the new year!