A technical committee that provides guidance to the Federal Aviation Administration has reportedly developed drafting recommendations for strengthening the aviation industry's cybersecurity posture. The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) released a guide to FAA officials, intended for agency officials to use in establishing cybersecurity standards, according to The Wall Street Journal.
While the guide did not dictate specific regulatory requirements, it recommends that the FAA focus on software and hardware threat mitigation requirements for manufacturers. The advisory committee's recommendations have not yet been released to the public.
Cybersecurity threats pose serious challenges for the aviation industry, and raise especially difficult issues for military departments. Attempts to keep software for the U.S. Air Force's Operational Control Segment (OCX) program up to date resulted in a 20 percent cost overrun for the project, according to a July report. The department reported progress last week strengthening cyber defenses of its weapons systems through its Task Force Cyber Secure program.
