Aircraft Communication Gateway Filtering for Open-to-Avionics Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication gateways for aircraft are not optimal in filtering messages between the open domain and the avionics domain, particularly in preventing cyber-attacks that could cause malfunctions in avionics systems.
Innovation Solution
An electronic communication gateway with an acquisition module, filtering module, and transmission module that applies configurable filtering criteria based on the recipient avionics system, including single-field, multi-field, and condition criteria, to validate or block messages, ensuring compatibility and security.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If strict filtering is applied to messages from the open domain to the avionics domain, then security against cyber-attacks is improved, but message transmission efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The filtering process is segmented into multiple independent stages: syntactic filtering (checking message format and structure), semantic filtering (validating data meaning and consistency), and contextual filtering (assessing message relevance to the target avionics system). Each stage operates independently with specific filtering criteria, allowing efficient processing while maintaining comprehensive security coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The gateway performs preliminary filtering actions on messages before they reach the avionics systems. By pre-validating message syntax, semantics, and contextual relevance at the gateway level, potentially harmful messages are blocked early in the transmission process, preventing them from consuming avionics system resources and maintaining both security and transmission efficiency.
2Reliability
If comprehensive filtering criteria are applied to all messages, then protection against malicious messages is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway applies different filtering criteria and validation rules tailored to each target avionics system. Instead of using a single uniform filtering mechanism for all systems, the gateway configures specific syntactic, semantic, and contextual criteria appropriate for each avionics system's capabilities and requirements, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The filtering system dynamically adapts its criteria based on the target avionics system and message type. The gateway can adjust the strictness and type of filtering applied depending on the recipient system's characteristics, allowing flexible protection that responds to different operational contexts without requiring a permanently complex filtering architecture.
3Adaptability or versatility
If filtering parameters are customized for each avionics system, then message compatibility is improved, but configuration complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gateway employs a universal filtering framework that can handle multiple avionics systems with different requirements through a single configurable interface. The same syntactic, semantic, and contextual filtering mechanisms are applied across all systems, with parameters adjusted according to each system's specific needs, enabling broad compatibility without proportionally increasing configuration complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A communication gateway, on-board an aircraft and connected between electronic devices of an open domain and avionics systems of an avionics domain, includes a module for acquiring, from an electronic device, at least one data message intended for an avionics system, a module for filtering each respective acquired message, according to a set of filtering criteria which is selected, from a set of filtering criteria, depending upon a type of the message, and a transmission module for transmitting each validated message to the corresponding avionics system. At least one filtering criterion of the set is parameterized via a respective filter parameter, and at least one filter parameter is dependent on the recipient avionics system, being variable from one avionics system to another.