L IA N C E IO 2 SP DIT UE E S IS
I N T E R N AT I O N A L DA I LY 15 NOVEMBER 2017
AVSEC WORLD
14 - 16 November 2017 | Abu Dhabi, UAE
Cooperation is crucial to success
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he urgent need for states and aviation authorities to share information about risks, passengers and wideranging security issues was a key theme of opening day presentations on Tuesday at the 26th AVSEC World Conference in Abu Dhabi. Governments also must be ready to shoulder greater responsibility for resourcing evolving requirements such as assessing passenger risks over the long term, speakers warned. In his keynote speech, Alexandre de Juniac, IATA Director General and CEO, called on government security organizations to overcome to their reluctance to share information when they are aware of a risk to human life. “Our safety performance shows what can be achieved when governments cooperate among themselves and with the industry,” de Juniac said. “Information sharing is not in the DNA of most government security organizations. But this reluctance must be overcome. And to be clear, we are not asking governments to divulge sensitive intelligence to industry. But if they know of a risk to human life—to innocent human life—they need to tell the people who can do something about it. Otherwise, what’s the use of having the information?” De Juniac went on to say, “We are eager to work with governments to establish a
government-industry partnership platform for the exchange of threat/risk information, during times of crisis when there are urgent threats and in the regular exercise of contingency planning.” He added: “Airlines have operational know-how. Governments have the financial and intelligence resources. We must simply work together.” Offering a keynote welcome and opening remarks was H.E. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy and Chairman of the UAE’s General Civil
Aviation Authority, who noted that the UAE Vision 2021 has included air transportation safety, security and infrastructure as a major key performance indicator with “specific and clear targets aiming at strengthening and sustaining the sector.” He said, “As we all know, aviation security is a topic of critical importance, and partnership is a key in facing a wide range of security challenges by pooling resources, finding solutions and building capacity.” Host airline for the three-day conference is Etihad Airways.
K E E P U P T O DAT E W I T H A L L T H I N G S A I R L I N E S R E L AT E D AT A I R L I N E S . I A T A . O R G
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Innovative approach needed to enhance security – panel
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he Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) has introduced an approach to innovation in its operations that involves “the right mix of employees…and the right structure”, and adopting technologies “that will work best in our context,” the AVSEC audience heard on Tuesday. Neil Perry, Vice President, Operations, CATSA, said the organization aims to improve security and passenger flow and experience, increase efficiency, and take advantage of new technology and tools. The authority’s CATSA Plus initiative involves automation, centralized image processing and remote screening to more
IATA and UAE sign MoU at AVSEC
efficiently and effectively move passengers through security screening procedures. In addition to improving passenger flow, the technology used and the data gathered provide CATSA with insights about the passenger experience that can shape the deployment of resources at Canadian airports by charting heavy and slack travel times. “It starts with a boarding pass scan,” said Perry, who said that the scan “gives us an actual real-time wait time.” Even property lost by passengers at a security control station can be found through the system CATSA is using by pinpointing the lane the passenger traveled
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ATA and the General Civil Aviation
Authority of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen, promote, and enhance cooperation in civil aviation and facilitation. To ensure a close working relationship, GCAA and IATA have agreed to share information, consult with each other on W W W. I A T A . O R G
through, and the time at which they traveled through. Elsewhere, spea ker Da rby LaJoye, A ssista nt Ad m i n ist rator of t he US Transportation Safety Administration, said his organization has begun issuing an airport design security guide, outlining the need for features such as blast-resistant windows to be considered when airports are being newly built or remodeled. Asked what his top priority for a ‘new on the radar’ addition to improve security wou ld be, Nick Ca reen, Sen ior Vice President, Airports, Passenger, Cargo & Security, IATA, called for an internationally recognized standard on mutual recognition.
policy issues, work on joint training and technical assistance, and partner on proj e c t s wh ic h cont r i bute to t h e development and improvement of aviation security and cooperation. The signing of the MoU, which IATA officials said was the first of its kind, came at the opening of the AVSEC conference in Abu Dhabi.
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Aviation industry must accelerate security progress T errorists may have shifted activity to crude tactics such as firearm, knife and vehicle attacks to injure and kill innocent people around the world over the last year, but the aviation community and states still have not made ne cessa r y prog ress i n si g n i f ic a nt ly increasing aviation security levels since the 25th AVSEC World Conference, a panel of security and safety experts has agreed.
“Firstly we need to move away from the term ‘conflict zone’. In my view, it is not overly helpful when discussing threats to civil aviation in flight” In a session entitled What has changed since the last AVSEC World?, speakers cast doubt on whether the Con f l ict Zone Repository (CZR)—intended to provide a centralized bank of information about risks posed to civil aviation operations over or near conf lict zones—was adequately fulfilling its mission. A need for the aviation community to build a security culture remains, as does the need for a closer alignment between aviation’s security and safety entities. Drones have become a more significant, and dangerous, player on the
landscape. Addressing concerns around the ICAO-sp onsored CZ R , pa nel ist K as Beumkes, Senior Safety Expert, ICAO, said that changes to the existing approach were being formulated by a task force to improve and standardize the reporting format that states are to use to report risks to civil aircraft. “I invite you, the audience, to come forward with examples that you think may be helpful to…a structured format that could be shared in the future to share information,” Beumkes said. “Firstly, I think we need to try to move away from the terminology ‘conflict zone’,” said Andrew Nicholson, CEO, Osprey Flight Solutions. “In my view, it is not overly helpful when discussing threats to civil
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aviation in flight, as the proliferation of weapons that pose a threat to civil aviation has meant that over-flight risk is present in areas that are not traditionally defined as conflict zones.” In the last 12 months, Nicholson said, shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles had been recovered in countries that were “not covered by warnings from any civil aviation entity and are not defined as conflict zones.” Summing up current conditions, Kaarlo Karvonen, Head of Security, Finnair, and Chair of the IATA Security Group, said, “We just need to get things done. In aviation, we tend to be pragmatic, and in the IATA safety group, I will be urging that we need to get things done.”
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AVSEC World 2017: Welcome reception
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Evolving strategies key to combating cyberattacks
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ccording to a recent Atlantic Council report, Finding Lift, Minimizing Drag, “at present, there is an absence of clear or strong foundations in aviation cybersecurity to adequately prepare for and counter emerging threats across aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, air traffic management, airports, and their supply chains.” The issue doesn’t belong to aviation alone. The Economist Intelligence Unit says cybersecurity is now “a top concern for all businesses” with the annual cost predicted to reach $6 trillion by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. It is certainly difficult to stop cyberattacks, as demonstrated by the May 2017 WannaCry ransomware outbreak. This blocked access to a users’ files until a payment had been received. More than 300,000 computers worldwide were infected,
including those used by the UK’s National Health Service and companies and individuals in Russia, Taiwan, and India. For many experts, defense is a matter of identifying the attack quickly as well as trying to prevent it. Detection can lead to the source of an attack and yield valuable information about limiting damage. Information sharing is also key and an ongoing debate is whether or not to make the reporting of an aviation cyberattack mandatory. Supporters suggest this would help to strengthen cybersecurity strategies although the sensitive nature of the material must be considered. For most airlines, a comprehensive Enterprise Risk Management strategy is probably a good start. IATA is promoting best practice in this area, which includes committed engagement from C-Suite executives to ensure W W W. I A T A . O R G
understanding and adoption throughout the whole organization. IATA is also working with the members of the Civil Aviation Cybersecurity Action Pl a n—I nter n at ion a l Civ i l Av i at ion Organization (ICAO), Airports Council International (ACI), the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization (CANSO), and the International Coordination Council of Aerospace I ndust r ies A sso c i at ions (ICCA I A)—to ensu re that i ndustry stakeholders and governments promote a coherent approach to cybersecurity. ICAO has also passed a resolution on cybersecurity that calls for a collaborative, harmonized, and global approach. Specialized track: Digital Protection Wednesday, 14:00-15:30
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One ID will revolutionize air travel information to be sent on from the departure airport to the arrival airport, for instance, significantly expediting border control on arrival. Regulations will need to change, and passports may become redundant. Another area of attention is privacy. In Europe, the General Data Protection Regulation comes into force in 2018 and is recognized as the most stringent privacy law yet conceived. Other jurisdictions are
“One ID will change the sequences and structures that have been in place since aviation started. It is something completely different and implementing it will take time.”
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ne ID will facilitate end-toend identity management, from booking, through departure and arrival, to the return journey. The idea underpins such industry initiatives as New Distribution Capability, ONE Order, Fast Travel, and Smart Security – as well as resolving bottlenecks in border controls. All rely in part on being able to easily and quickly identify the customer. The technology to achieve this is already largely available. Collaborative identity management platforms offer ever richer capabilities. Metrics are delivering strong results, with facial recognition having become the
dominant form although both fingerprint and iris verification are being used as well. The challenge is to convince the multitude of stakeholders involved to trust and collaborate with each other. Customs, border control, airports, airlines and suppliers all need to buy in to the project. “It is hard to break down silos within countries, never mind across borders,” says Guido Peetermans, IATA’s Head, Passenger Security. “One ID will change the sequences and structures that have been in place since aviation started. It is something completely different and implementing it will take time.” One ID has the potential for relevant
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expected to follow suit. Despite this, One ID is already gaining a foothold in the industry. Aruba has its Happy Flow project and initiatives are also underway at Bangalore, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney, and Amsterdam Schiphol. It is likely One ID will make its debut for departures and then move into crossborder operations, perhaps initially on a specific city-pair within a trusted traveler program. “IATA’s role is to ensure that when One ID happens, it happens in a structured and standardized way,” concludes Peetermans. “Connecting to multiple systems is expensive for the airlines and inconvenient for the passenger.”
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