Search
Close this search box.

We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

ICAO organises Asia and Pacific Regional Cybersecurity Symposium 2018 in Hong Kong

ICAO organises Asia and Pacific Regional Cybersecurity Symposium 2018 in Hong Kong

Cyber
threats are currently growing at an increasing rate and therefore becoming a
concern to civil aviation. The reduction of cyber vulnerabilities and
associated risks is critical to improve the resilience of the global aviation
system. Given the nature of cyber threats to the air navigation, airports and
other critical aviation systems, it is time for all relevant entities in the
national and international levels to work collaboratively in order to provide a
more proactive and aligned collective response to cyber threats.

Air
navigation and airport infrastructure and information systems are exposed to a
multitude of threat sources, including organised crime, motivated activists or
so called ‘hacktivists’, insider threats and; accidental or inadvertent system
damage due to employee or contractor misuse. Each of these threats is able to
cause a large and wide-spread disturbance to the order of air and ground
operations.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
Asia and Pacific Regional Cybersecurity Symposium 2018 opened
in Hong Kong from 15 to 16 May 2018. The theme of the Symposium
was “Cybersecurity in Air Navigation and Airport Services”. The two-day
Symposium was jointly organised by the ICAO, the Civil Aviation Department
(CAD) and the
Airport Authority Hong Kong
(AA).

According to the press statement, Hong Kong is the first
city to host such symposium for the Asia-Pacific Region after a resolution
relating to cybersecurity “Addressing Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation” was
adopted in 2016 by the ICAO Assembly.

Director-General of Civil Aviation Mr Simon Li, Chief
Executive Officer of the AA Mr Fred Lam, and the ICAO Asia and Pacific Regional
Office's senior officer responsible for air traffic management and
communications, navigation and surveillance, Mr Li Peng, officiated at the
opening ceremony.

 In his welcoming speech, Mr Simon Li said the accelerated adoption of
information and communication technology systems in the aviation sector,
coupled with the increased digital connectivity between various systems, could
create potential vulnerabilities if the connectivity platform is not duly
secured.

“Robust cybersecurity is increasingly important in order to
sustain aviation growth and avoid any disruption to our air transport system,”
he said.

He added that, pursuant to the ICAO Assembly Resolution of 2016, which called
for co-ordinated actions by aviation regulatory authorities and industry
stakeholders to mitigate the risks of cyber threats, the Symposium today is
well-timed for cybersecurity stakeholders to share knowledge and experience in
this subject.

At the Symposium, around 180 cybersecurity experts and
aviation industry representatives from the ICAO and its members, as well
as overseas and local organisations, met to evaluate the cyber threats faced by
the aviation industry, and to exchange the latest information, technologies and
implementation experiences in cybersecurity.

Guest speakers shared with participants their insights on
various important cybersecurity topics, including cyber threats and risks to
air traffic management, challenges to smart airports, and innovative
technologies and solutions adopted by the aviation industry to tackle cyber
threats. 

Cybersecurity threats pose broad ranging challenges to the
aviation industry as a whole across the world and currently being addressed at
global level through the establishment of the ICAO Secretariat Study Group on
Cybersecurity (SSGC). The APAC Region can monitor the progress and contribute
to the efforts of the SSGC to work towards the development of a comprehensive
and unified strategy for cybersecurity that can reflect the global and regional
environments. The urgency of need for the availability of appropriate guidance
and strategy on cybersecurity and cyber resilience was identified by the
symposium. The need was emphasised by most of the participants to share
information about the cyber threats and mitigation measures among the member
states.

However, due to national restrictions and
business reasons, many states do have reservations in sharing such critical
information. In this regard, it was proposed that secured and controlled access
to database may be considered for sharing information, reported attacks,
mitigation measures, security advisories etc. to ensure confidentiality of
information among the notified stakeholders under some kind of trust and
nondisclosure agreement. One example of a platform to share such information
would be the ICAO
Acts of Unlawful Interference Database
hosted on the ICAO Secure Portal.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Send this to a friend