Raytheon has been selected to advise the Kingdom of Jordan on the vulnerability of its aircraft networks and data to cyberattacks.
Raytheon will provide the Royal Hashemite Court with cybersecurity services to protect its critical infrastructure systems, including conducting vulnerability assessments, cyber test range services, cyber governance and policy strategy, the company said. The Royal aviation fleet, a Gulfstream G650 and Airbus A340, will undergo a vulnerability assessment to ensure all integrated systems are hardened and resilient to cyberattacks.
The contract was announced at Farnborough and though the value of the agreement was not disclosed, Raytheon says it reflects increased demand from the USA and international customers for cybersecurity protection of aircraft and weapons systems.
"If you look at the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, there is a mandate for all weapons systems to have a vulnerability assessment," says Todd Probert, vice-president of mission support and modernisation at Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. "We are seeing new requirements being put into new development programmes."
Raytheon currently provides cybersecurity assessments for the Lockheed Martin F-16 and Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey, as well as on command-and-control systems for the Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-8 Fire Scout.
As aircraft become increasingly networked and rely more heavily on software, they have become vulnerable to cyberattacks, says Probert.
That is especially true of some older aircraft that were not designed with cybersecurity in mind, he added.
"These systems were designed and fielded before there was a concern [about cyberattacks on aircraft]," says Probert. "In many cases we had to go back and bootstrap solutions."
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Source: Flight Daily News
