Who’s in Charge of Your Flight Department’s Cybersecurity?

Cyber criminals are getting more resourceful all the time. Nearly every day we hear another story about cyber-criminals stealing someone’s identity, hacking into a company’s database, or hijacking a city’s computer system and holding it for ransom. No one is immune to cyber threats – not even the corporate flight department.

Flying in a business aircraft is an exceedingly safe means of transportation and the industry’s safety obsession extends to cybersecurity. There have been no publicly reported cases of hackers impacting safety by infiltrating aircraft control, aircraft information systems, passenger information, cabin entertainment and passengers’ personal devices.

Let’s not forget that connected aircraft solutions have turned the cabin into just another workspace for business-jet passengers, including C-level executives who normally occupy the executive suite. Passengers can send and receive confidential emails, upload and download large files, and participate in videoconferences and private discussions – all while cruising along at 40,000 feet.

The same safeguards that protect the secure movement of data on the ground also have you covered when you use in-flight Wi-Fi to connect to your home or corporate network. Even so, it’s important to remember that vulnerabilities still exist, and technology can be compromised.  It’s worth having your corporate flight department and IT team work together to implement an in-flight cybersecurity plan that helps protect your passengers, crew and staff when flying aboard your corporate jet.

Here are some questions worth asking:

• Who’s responsible for flight department cybersecurity?
• What policies and procedures apply to information security on the aircraft?
• How do we assess the risk when flying internationally?
• Is the corporate flight department included in periodic security audits?
• Does everyone understand the threat landscape affecting your business?

If you have questions on cybersecurity, Honeywell can help. Our industry-leading Honeywell Forge Cabin platform protects data from the terminal to the ground, from the ground back up to the aircraft, and aboard the aircraft during flight. Honeywell Forge Routing software provides an intrusion detection solution that helps spot and quarantine cyber-intruders and malware before being routed to the ground infrastructure.

Honeywell is the first satellite communications service provider to offer an intrusion detection solution both inside the router and onboard your aircraft. With Honeywell Forge Routing Software installed, you finally have real-time monitoring and intrusion alerts onboard your aircraft with a status of your network displayed on your Honeywell Forge dashboard.

Through the corporate-level Honeywell Connected Enterprise, we’ve launched the Forge Cybersecurity platform to give customers in a wide range of industries the tools they need to strengthen cybersecurity operations and asset management. For business aviation, we’ve built off the company’s long history of leadership in industrial cybersecurity and applied lessons learned protecting thousands of sites worldwide.

Cyber-criminals are evolving, and Honeywell can help corporate flight departments with tools and services to extend IT policies and ensure the safety, security and integrity of information, especially in the age of the connected aircraft. We all have a part to play.