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ATC Systems Vulnerable to Cyber Attack - Report

by Mike on September 29th, 2005

The networks that link parts of the U.S. air traffic control system may be vulnerable to hackers, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The FAA hasn’t installed software security patches that have been around for years and has outdated and poorly enforced security policies that could “lead to disruption in aviation operations.” Further, the report revealed, the FAA failed to encrypt some sensitive data or comply with standards for handling security certificates and keys. It also maintains lax controls over user accounts and passwords.

The report looked at just three of the FAA’s 80 servers.

The FAA disagreed with the report, saying that the GAO didn’t conduct a complete review.

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