Safeguarding Skies: Airport Cybersecurity in the Digital Age

2026-04-26

AI Summary

This study addresses the complex cyber threats confronting airports in the digital era—including ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, and supply chain vulnerabilities—by pioneering the application of the MITRE ATT&CK matrix to the aviation domain. It systematically develops a cybersecurity risk analysis model tailored to airport environments, integrating the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and Zero Trust Architecture to identify critical vulnerabilities. The work proposes a comprehensive strategy that combines threat modeling with proactive defense mechanisms. By doing so, it delivers an actionable and systematic cybersecurity guidance framework for airports and their stakeholders, effectively filling a critical gap in the aviation industry’s capacity for structured threat analysis and coordinated defensive response.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Transportation
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Model-Based Reasoning
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Agent Architectures

Application Category

• Security and Privacy: Large-scale security measurements
• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Attacks and countermeasures in recommendation systems
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web applications in cross-disciplinary domains and verticals such as mixed reality, smart cities, and digital health

Abstract

The aviation industry faces significant vulnerabilities from both physical and cybersecurity threats, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures amid increasingly sophisticated attacks. This paper systematically reviews emerging threats at airports, analyzing real-world incidents and relevant literature while mapping risks to the MITRE ATT&CK Matrix, a widely recognized knowledge base for categorizing cyberattack tactics, techniques, and procedures. This is the first to apply the MITRE Matrix to airport security risks, offering a novel approach to understanding and mitigating these challenges. Building on this analysis, the paper advocates for modern cybersecurity defense models, emphasizing Cybersecurity Frameworks and Zero Trust Architecture, as well as critical measures for supply chain risk management and strategies to mitigate ransomware and DoS attacks. Our analysis provides insights into vulnerabilities and actionable recommendations, serving as a comprehensive guide for aviation stakeholders to strengthen defenses against evolving cybersecurity threats.

Problem

• airport cybersecurity
• cyber threats
• aviation security
• MITRE ATT&CK
• digital age

Innovation

• MITRE ATT&CK Matrix
• Zero Trust Architecture
• Airport Cybersecurity
• Cybersecurity Frameworks
• Supply Chain Risk Management