Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine November 2017 - 5

efficiently and consistently respond to attacks and, if possible, to
anticipate new attacks. The two major research and development
programs, i.e., SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) [5]
and NextGen (Next Generation Air Transportation System) [6]
have postulated the need for tackling the challenges in ATM security. However, prevailing nontechnical priorities and a focus on operational improvements have left a substantial gap in establishing
a security management and incident handling capability. Within
SESAR, ATM security focuses on the establishment and implementation of security risk management practices within the system
engineering life cycle.
The SESAR program has brought forward a new European
ATM vision in order to develop a system capable of ensuring the
safety and fluidity of future air transport, and achieve higher levels of integration between the various stakeholders. In this vision,
communication means will be extensively expanded, information
will be globally shared, and the airspace will be reorganized according to transnational functional airspace blocks (FABs). Combining and interconnecting various systems on the same infrastructure as well as integrating the many communication means, could
potentially open up the ATM system to more attacks, thereby increasing vulnerabilities and the overall security risks. This necessitates a security management solution to handle the challenges.
The concept of a security management framework (or system)
was introduced by the BS7799 standard of the British Standard Institution defining the so-called ISMS (Information Security Management System) concept, which was later refined and became the
ISO 27001 standard [7]. The expression ISMS refers to the coherent
set of policies, processes, and systems that an organization should
design, implement, and maintain to manage risks to its information assets, thus ensuring acceptable levels of risk. The concept of
a security management framework is applicable in general to any
industry including ATM. Given the global dimension of air transportation, the global ATM security scenario and associated security
threats can be addressed under such a standard and framework.
The evolving nature of aviation security has a deep impact on
the related security threat assessment. Traditionally, aviation security is focused on aircraft security and on nondependent ground
infrastructure security. However, this traditional approach does
NOVEMBER 2017

not solve all the security challenges of modern and future ATM
systems [8]. ATM infrastructures, networked devices, operational
nodes, and personnel represent a very complex operational system.
Any security solution must consider the changes in security risk
profiles due to the new security threats faced by the ATM system
that can spread their negative effects; an attack to one particular
node could compromise, in a very short time with domino effect,
the functionality of the whole ATM system and the air transportation system. Communication security in the aviation field is a
transversal infrastructure capability interconnecting the aviation
(and/or ATM) subsystems. As opposed to safety, it has received
relatively less attention, although this appears to have been rapidly
increasing in recent years. All in all, this situation calls for a wider
vision in addressing ATM security.
GAMMA (Global ATM security management) is a partially
funded project [9] by the European Commission 7th Framework
Programme (FP7) for Research and Technological Development
and is aimed at providing a holistic vision of ATM security. This
is achieved by adhering to the above standards and addressing the
gap in today's capabilities by identifying the security risks stemming from ATM system operation. Furthermore, its evolution and
emerging vulnerabilities are reflected by addressing it in two dimensions:
C

Self-protection / resilience of the ATM system / critical infrastructure, and
Collaboration with other security stakeholders concerning
security incidents.

GAMMA is complimentary to SESAR and by further extending the scope of SESAR ATM security, it is planned to ensure continuous sharing of security information among different ATM actors. It is aimed to provide the overall situational awareness of the
security status of the ATM as a whole, as well as a basis for identifying threats through extended correlations of isolated incidents
and in providing the means to support the resolution of the security
issues, minimizing disruptions and repercussions to the system as a
whole. The GAMMA security management solution comprises the
following major conceptual elements:

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine November 2017