Security Issues in Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B): A Survey

Abstract

As a new generation of air transportation surveillance technology, the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) system mainly completes the extraction and processing of the position information and other additional information of the aviation aircraft to form a clear and intuitive background map and trajectory. However, ADS-B broadcasts information via open and unencrypted protocols, it is vulnerable to deliberate intrusions and attacks, which poses a great security risk. This paper studies the security issues of the ADS-B system in information leakage and tampering. Starting from the vulnerability of the ADS-B system, it is divided into vulnerability based on attack intention and vulnerability based on security requirements. Various solutions for solving vulnerabilities from two aspects, secure location authentication, and secure broadcast authentication are proposed, and the solutions are compared in terms of security and feasibility. The research results show that a single solution does not fully protect the security of the ADS-B system. For example, the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) technology and the SS (Spread Spectrum) technology can resist most attacks, but there are still deficiencies. Therefore, this paper proposes to propose a multi-layered security framework in future research work, which includes detecting and preventing different attacks in the ADS-B system.

Cybersecurity Attacks on Software Logic and Error Handling Within ADS-B Implementations: Systematic Testing of Resilience and Countermeasures

“…The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) claims that unencrypted data links are necessary due to operational requirements [1]. The lack of basic security mechanisms of the ADS-B signal makes them easy to forge or tamper with, which affects the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the transmitted aircraft data [2].…”

Cyberattack on Flight Safety: Detection and Mitigation Using LoRa

“…Various studies have been published on cyberattacks on the ADS-B system commonly used in commercial aviation [ 5 ]. These studies reviewed and raised a variety of possible cyberattacks on the ADS-B system and highlighted the problems of this system’s ability to defend against those attacks.…”

“…There are several technological mitigations, but their efficiency is yet to be proven. The authors of this paper [ 5 ] surveyed the theoretical and practical applications for the reader who wants to inquire further.…”

“…The ADS-B system uses an alternative way of displaying aircraft traffic compared to the use of the commonly used traditional radar. ADS-B messages are built from information collected from the aircraft system, as well as from the GPS mounted on the aircraft [ 5 ]. Typically, when aircraft are airborne, the ADS-B Out subsystem transmits extended squitters (long Mode S messages) twice per second for airborne position and airborne velocity [ 11 ].…”

A Reliable Separation Algorithm of ADS-B Signal Based on Time Domain

“…Due to historical reasons, the access of the onboard transponder to the channel is random, and ADS-B broadcasts information through open and unencrypted protocols. This means that ADS-B data from the different planes will be transmitted asynchronously, which will lead to serious signal collision in the space-based system and two ADS-B signal overlaps most frequently [9]- [11]. If ignoring the signal overlap problem and discarding the overlap ADS-B signal directly, it will be unable to obtain important information and ensure the safety of the aircraft, which will degrade the airspace surveillance performance.…”