ATA Spec 42-2020 Aviation Industry Standards for Digital Informa

Aviation Industry Standards for Digital Information Security

Abstract

For many years, the commercial aviation industry has been engaged in a major transition towards the ?digital aircraft?. With this generation of aircraft, the industry has moved towards the ?connected aircraft?. This evolution is propelled by the need for increased efficiency and interoperability at reduced overall cost. This generation of aircraft has extensive requirements for external interaction. This is where the greatest data security challenges lie. Whether it is aircraft avionics communicating with a ground station, or a passenger in the aircraft accessing a service using the Internet, great care must be taken to ensure that only legitimate communication or ?information transfer? is occurring. Spec 42 provides recommendations on standardized methods to achieve the appropriate level of security for an application primarily relying on digital identities but in some cases transitioning from an existing manual process over time to a fully functioning automated digital identity-based solution. The intent of this guidance is to support a variety of levels of users and security requirements and guide an organization through that transition process.

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