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    INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CYBER SECURITY CHALLENGES 1

    International Airport Cyber Security Challenges

    Steven M. Swafford

    University of Maryland University College

    Cyberspace and Cybersecurity

    Dr. Amjad Ali

    June 26, 2011

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    Abstract

    Air travel and the security measures surrounding this industry face countless challenges today

    than ever before. On September 11, 2001, the world changed forever due to the terrorist attack

    on the United States and airport security would never be the same again. The need to protect

    nations and their citizens drove changes both in the airline industry and government

    responsibilities. The solutions engaged today does a great job of addressing security threats

    however; the thin line of personal freedom and the regulations enacted by governments is

    questionable by many citizens and activist groups. In late 2001, the Transportation Security

    Administration (TSA) was established and charged with the safety of travel within the United

    States. The TSA employees a number of technologies to conduct security operations and

    because technology in itself face threats, it is imperative that cyber threats are mitigated. There

    are so many points of failure that the job of security quickly becomes hard-hitting. The apparent

    points of interest are aircraft security, passenger screening, baggage screening, credentials, and

    human behavior, with the human behavior the distinct largest threat. Turning the focus to

    international airports often increases security threats largely due to the logistics involved and the

    dependency upon other countrys security measures. If international air travel is to be safe then

    every country must work together in order to achieve the common goal, which is the protection

    of human life and their citizens.

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    Figure 1. Year to date passenger travel,February 2011

    International Airport Cyber Security Challenges

    To put into perspective it is crucial to address the scope of security. Inside the United

    States alone, there are dozens of international airports where millions of people move from

    country to country. As millions of people move

    through the airports, all it takes is a single breach

    in security to put others at risk. The sheer number

    of travelers often may be unbelievable as hundreds

    of millions (see Figure 1) travelers make their way

    across the globe. At this point, the task of security

    operations and the challenges associated with air

    travel begin to take shape. The point of failure is

    not the technology itself rather it falls often to the

    human dynamic. Threats can be either intentional

    or unintentional but either way airport security

    must be vigorous and ready on short notice to react to any occurrence. There are both

    advantages and disadvantages to security protocols and understanding both aspects is vital to the

    overall success of securing airport infrastructure.

    Operational Breakout

    International airport operations and the people involved have an enormous responsibility

    to both the physical aspect of operations and those who travel through this nations airports.

    Understanding three areas of operations are the first step in this journey.

    1. Daily operations are the aspect in which people conduct daily activities with their job.

    2. Technical operations are actions based within the Information Technology (IT) systems.

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    3. Management operations are risk analysis, supervision, and oversight of both personnel

    and IT systems.

    Daily Operations

    The Atlanta, GA International Airport has processed over twelve million passengers (see

    Figure 1) without a major incident. Security originates as travelers enter the airport perimeter by

    vehicles or arriving by aircraft. TSA conducts surveillance of personnel across the airport using

    telecommunications equipment in the form of cameras. Audio and video surveillance are a

    strong deterrence to those who wish to cause harm. This type of surveillance also can be used in

    legal matters as well as improving upon training.

    Processing passengers and their baggage is no small task. To accomplish this task a

    variety of systems are utilized to ensure the passenger possesses a valid ticket, valid credentials,

    and is cleared to fly. These high priority systems are protected with intrusion systems to include

    firewalls and physical security to the server vaults. Maybe even more important is to implement

    redundancy for key systems. Load balancing the computer equipment allows for distribution of

    the workload and helps to ensure operations are maintained in the event a single server goes

    offline.

    One could argue that airport employees present the single greatest risk to security. This

    in itself opens room for discussion where secondary measures must be strengthened. For anyone

    who has flown before it is commonplace to see airport employees swiping an access card to

    access areas the public is restricted from. In 2010 an airline pilot posted an amateur recording of

    San Franciscos flaws in security from the point of view of employee access. In the pilots own

    words, the public is at risk due to poor access control once employees enter the internal working

    areas of an airport (Amy Hollyfield, 2010).

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    Well, folks, I just wanted to give you an idea of what type of security for the ground

    personnel there is. This is their screening. As you can see, there's only a card slide and

    one door. So when you see a cart, those carts aren't screened at all.

    Card readers do provide a level of acceptable access control however to take security to

    the next level may include a combination of card readers and iris scanners to further control

    access. The obstacle with iris scanners may come down to cost. Verified Identity Pass provides

    kiosks that allow passengers to move through the conventional security protocols much more

    quickly (Bryant Urstadt, 2007). These kiosks perform both fingerprint scanning and iris

    scanning to confirm the identity of the individual. The cost of this technology comes in at a

    $150,000.00 price tag. This same technology could be adapted and employed at various internal

    operational checkpoints to ensure personnel are only gaining access to areas that the job requires.

    The scope of technology, effectiveness, and financial investment surrounding security quickly

    become both expensive and time consuming (see Figure 2) but it is extremely important.

    Figure 2. Effectiveness and cost of security systems (Government Accountability Office, 2009)

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    INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CYBER SECURITY CHALLENGES 6

    Figure 3. Advance ImagingTechnology (AIT) full body scanner.

    Technical Operations

    The single most noticeable component of airport security may be the use of full body

    scanners (see Figure 3). The Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) is software based on

    technology similar to that of an x-ray machine found in any local hospital. This scanner takes an

    image of a person, which in turn allows TSA agents

    to determine if a threat exists. With all hardware

    and software based security systems come a number

    of threats. In this case, two threats include loss of

    electrical power or a defect within the software.

    According to the National Science and Technology

    Council (2006),

    Today, many vulnerabilities are easy to exploit, and individuals and organizations

    worldwide can access systems and networks connected to the Internet across geographic

    and national boundaries. Current technology also makes it easy to hide or disguise the

    origin and identity of the individuals or organizations that exploit these vulnerabilities.

    Since modern day security precautions implement a wide variety of technology through

    various checkpoints, it has become imperative an appropriate power supply is available should a

    power outage occur. It is equally important to address the physical aspects of this hardware in

    the sense of access control and environmental controls, which include air conditioning and

    humidity. Access control is probably the easiest area to address and two possible measures are

    card readers or biometric controls. Both are viable solutions in protecting critical areas and

    biometric controls are least likely to present a risk since the access cards can be lost. Access

    control points are critical to security and the operations surrounding airports (see Figure 4).

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    Figure 4. Airport security perimeter. (Khalafallah & El-Rayes, 2008)

    Management Operations

    The last stage of operations touches on those who are in positions of authority of others.

    This includes supervisors, managers, and others that hold positions of responsibility over others.

    These individuals have the duty to ensure proper procedures are observed during the daily

    activities. Often personnel in this role are the first line of defense and have the responsibility to

    train and educate both new and current employees on policy and procedures.

    Conclusion

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    Airport security is not an easy task to complete and it requires a great deal of investment

    in both people and infrastructure. Because IT plays such a large role in modern day security, the

    following actions are vital:

    1. Physical facility security must strengthen.

    2. Employees must perform above reproach.

    3. IT infrastructure must implement restricted access, employ environmental controls,

    and account for redundancy and secondary power options.

    The federal government and TSA have tediously taken steps to ensure both policies and funding

    are in place. This puts the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of those employees in

    international airports across the United States. The job of securing this nations airports often

    may be overwhelming; however, it is possible to accomplish this duty with attention to detail.

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    References

    Transportation Security Administration. Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT). Retrieved from

    http://www.tsa.gov/approach/tech/ait/index.shtm

    Gerald K., & Jones A. (2002) What InfoSec professionals should know about Information

    Warfare tactics by terrorists. Computers & Security, 21(2), 113-119. doi:10.1016/S0167-

    4048(02)00203-1

    Swartz, N. (2004). U.S. airports debut document scanners.Information Management Journal,

    38(6), 14. Retrieved from http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Information-

    Management-Journal/125489576.html

    Khalafallah, A., & El-Rayes, K. (2008). Minimizing Construction-Related Security Risks during

    Airport Expansion Projects.Journal of Construction Engineering & Management,

    134(1), 40-48. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2008)134:1(40)

    Urstadt, B. (2007). Iris scanning, now at JFK. Technology Review, 110(4), 72-74. Retrieved

    from http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/18879/

    National Science and Technology Council. (2006). Federal plan for cyber security and

    information assurance research and development. Retrieved from

    http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/nitrd/fed_plan_csia_rese.pdf

    Government Accountability Office. (2009). Aviation Security: A National Strategy and Other

    Actions Would Strengthen TSA's Efforts to Secure Commercial Airport Perimeters and

    Access Controls, Report to Congressional Requesters (Report No. GAO-09-399).

    Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09399.pdf

    Hollyfield, A. (2010). SFO pilot exposes airport security flaws. Retrieved from

    http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/peninsula&id=7859952

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    Airports Council International. (2011). Year to date passenger travel traffic, February 2011.

    Retrieved from

    http://www.airports.org/cda/aci_common/display/main/aci_content07_c.jsp?zn=aci&cp=

    1-5-212-218-222_666_2__