Security Enhancements of the Surveillance Data Exchange Protocol “ASTERIX”

The operation of radar equipment is one of the key facilities navigators use to gather situational awareness about their surroundings. With an ever-increasing need for alwaysrunning logistics and tighter shipping schedules, operators rely more on computerized instruments and their indications. As a result, modern ships have become complex cyber-physical systems in which sensors and computers constantly communicate and coordinate. In this work, we discuss novel threats related to the radar system, one of a ship's most security-sensitive components.In detail, we first discuss some new attacks capable of compromising the integrity of data displayed on a radar system, with potentially catastrophic impacts on the crew's situational awareness or safety. Then, we present a detection system to highlight anomalies in the radar video feed, requiring no modifications to the target ship configuration. Finally, we stimulate our detection system by performing the attacks inside a simulated environment. The experimental results indicate that the attacks are feasible, easy to carry out, and hard to detect. Moreover, they prove that the proposed detection technique is effective.

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“…From a security standpoint, as emphasized in [25] and [26], the ASTERIX protocol does not implement any authentication and encryption features.…”

Section: Asterixmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, an update to the protocols and devices might be considered, as suggested in [25] and [52]. However, our proposed solution is more immediately applicable than the alternative of requiring redesign, re-certification, and rectification of relevant standards and related equipment.…”

Section: Related Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attacking (and Defending) the Maritime Radar System

Longo

Russo

Armando

et al. 2023

IEEE Trans.Inform.Forensic Secur.

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“…An antenna transmits CAT-240 messages via UDP multicast, and PPIs subscribe to this feed to receive and display data. From a security perspective, it is important to note that the ASTERIX protocol lacks built-in authentication and encryption features [13], [14].…”

Section: A Maritime Radar Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electronic Attacks as a Cyber False Flag against Maritime Radars Systems

Longo,

Merlo,

Armando

et al. 2023

2023 IEEE 48th Conference on Local Computer Networks (LCN)

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Radar systems have long been essential for safe navigation in various transportation sectors, including aviation, maritime, and automotive. While these systems provide invaluable situational awareness and decision-making capabilities, they increasingly become targets for malicious actors aiming to disrupt their normal operations. Electronic countermeasures (ECM) have traditionally been the predominant form of attack. However, recent findings have uncovered their vulnerability to cyberbased actions, capitalizing on their digitization and network connectivity. In this paper, we propose a novel threat model that exploits cyber attack capabilities against radar systems to simulate the effects of ECM. This model goes beyond known attacks by introducing a deceptive element, challenging attribution. To evaluate the feasibility of these attacks, extensive experimentation is conducted using a realistic case study involving the maritime domain. Through this research, we aim to highlight the evolving threats facing radar systems and the need for comprehensive security measures.

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“…As known, the ASTERIX protocol does not offer any security mechanisms to ensure data source authenticity, data integrity, etc. [5] As such, it is trivial to impersonate existing Sensors/Users or modify legitimate messages, once we are on the same network with ARTAS [6].…”

Section: Attack On Asterix Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Status of Cyber Security in Artas Surveeillance Data Processing System

Jancik

Dzurovčin

2019

Self Cite

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The objective of this paper is to present a comprehensive status of cyber security challenges in ARTAS surveillance data processing system. The cyber security is a major concern of current Air Traffic Systems. It is mandated by European Union as well as national law. Therefore, EUROCONTROL as the provider the ARTAS application conducted a comprehensive security assessment is to identify security vulnerabilities of the systems. For this purpose, a grey-box penetration testing was conducted by EUROCONTROL’s security experts. The numerous findings are currently mitigated by the fact that ARTAS systems should be isolated and restricted in a secure architecture. The next version of ARTAS application is addressing the most critical issues.

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Security Enhancements of the Surveillance Data Exchange Protocol “ASTERIX”

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

Attacking (and Defending) the Maritime Radar System

Attacking (and Defending) the Maritime Radar System

Electronic Attacks as a Cyber False Flag against Maritime Radars Systems

Current Status of Cyber Security in Artas Surveeillance Data Processing System

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