A Survey of Security Challenges and Solutions for Advanced Air Mobility and EVTOL Aircraft

This survey reviews the existing and envisioned security vulnerabilities and defense mechanisms relevant to Advanced Air Mobility AAM systems, with a focus on electric vertical takeoff and landing eVTOL aircraft. Drawing from vulnerabilities in the avionics in commercial aviation and the automate...

Airbus Navblue Flysmart LPC-NG issues

LPC-NG or Less Paper Cockpit - Next Generation is an electronic flight bag EFB application offered by Navblue, a part of Airbus. It’s used for calculating engine thrust requirements perf on takeoff and braking action on landing, among many features that help make flight safer and more efficient...

Hacking Electronic Flight Bags. Airbus NAVBLUE Flysmart+ Manager

We’ve been testing the security of a number of different electronic flight bag, or EFB, applications for a few years now. Here’s the latest on that now it has been remediated, 19 months after our initial disclosure to Airbus. TL;DR Flysmart+ is a suite of apps for pilot EFBs, helping deliver...

Black Hat and DEF CON Roundup

There was nothing typical this year at BSides LV, Black Hat USA and DEF CON – also known collectively as Hacker Summer Camp. The weeklong collection of cybersecurity conferences featured an eclectic mix of attendees to learn, network, hack and have fun. The week even included a rare Las Vegas fla...

Database Integrity Vulnerabilities in Boeing’s Onboard Performance Tool

This post is released in a co-ordinated manner with Boeing. TL;DR: Security gaps in older, unprotected Windows desktop versions of Boeing’s Onboard Performance Tool OPT could make certain Electronic Flight Bags EFB more susceptible to attack. In particular, OPT’s use of plain text configuration...

Commercial Air Transport EFB Regulation

Introduction The Electronic Flight Bag EFB is a device pilots use to gather information. This includes viewing airport charts ground and in-flight, calculating take-off and landing performance, as well as multiple other uses as detailed in our other EFB blog posts. EFB regulation is, in a word,...

Deploying EFBs securely

It may come as a surprise to some to discover that electronic flight bag security at airlines is often quite variable. Whilst some use an MDM, a lot don’t. Of those who do, PINs are often weak. Some airlines actively encourage pilots to use their devices for personal use. We’ve heard stories of a...

EFB Safety Advice for Pilots

As a pilot you will be all too aware of how important an electronic flight bag EFB is to you and your role. It’s probably critical to your takeoff performance calculations, your roster, pax lists and plenty more. It’s one thing if its not working, but have you ever stopped to consider what could...