Survey of Cyber Threats in Air Traffic Control and Aircraft Communications Systems

Air traffic control systems based on the ADS-B standard have been widely adopted in civil aviation to the point that they are now considered the de facto standard. ADS-B provides major benefits to airports and airlines by increasing the safety of air traffic management and control and allowing more flights to travel near busy airports. However, the ADS-B technology lacks sufficient security measures. The ADS-B system is vulnerable and exposed to cyberattacks. We survey the potential known threats and attacks against ADS-B and assess the potential cybersecurity threats to air traffic management and control. The widespread use of ADS-B and the lack of security features in it, i.e., all the AD…