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Cybersecurity in Aviation: Battling Ransomware Threats
Sep 20, 2024
In this critical discussion, experts delve into the recent CrowdStrike outage and the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity in aviation. Discover how investing in resilient networks and training can protect consumers and combat the rising threat of cybercrime. #Cybersecurity #AviationSafety #Ransomware #ITProfessionals #CrowdStrike #CyberResilience #AviationIndustry #TechTrends #AICyberThreats #WorkforceDevelopment
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submit that uh question to you for a
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written response thank you Madame
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chairman thank you Senator Blackburn
0:07
Senator cloar thank you very much Madam
0:10
chair thanks for doing this important
0:11
hearing so uh the recent crowd strike
0:15
outage uh we all know um plagued our
0:18
airports plagued our
0:20
transportation and it was caused as we
0:22
all know by a flaw in this security
0:24
update um Mr brao in your testimony you
0:28
highlight the growing Trend in
0:30
ransomware attacks in the aviation
0:32
center uh can you speak to how investing
0:34
in Secure interoperable networks can
0:37
protect consumers while something else
0:39
was going on here with
0:41
crowdstrike uh Senator thank you for the
0:44
question uh I would respond to that by
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saying that more investment in cyber
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security resiliency will help address uh
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not only the uh ability of uh Aviation
0:56
networks to resist hacking but it would
0:59
also give resources to help train uh the
1:03
staff who interact with those networks I
1:05
think as most experts in cyber security
1:06
will tell you uh humans are often the
1:09
weakest link in any cyber security chain
1:12
and so Cher kentwell talked earlier
1:14
about the need for greater hygiene uh to
1:16
get uh staff and other people who
1:19
interact with these networks to avoid
1:21
things like clicking on suspicious links
1:23
um that can subject an entire network to
1:26
a a ransomware attack that ultimately
1:28
shuts it down and has the dramatic
1:30
impacts on consumers the the missed
1:32
flights and and and things that I talked
1:34
about um I think one thing that hasn't
1:36
come up yet that would I think also play
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a role into this is uh the emerging
1:40
threat of AI um we are very concerned at
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NCL that the uh bar to entry for cyber
1:47
thieves to conduct these ransomware
1:49
attacks um is really going to be
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dramatically lowered because of the
1:53
ability of AI to make it easier for
1:56
people who may not have the same skill
1:58
set that you may have needed five or 10
1:59
years years ago to commit a ransomware
2:01
attack to commit one so the number of of
2:04
of uh threat actors out there we fear is
2:07
only going to uh multiply and so the
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kind of investment that we need in cyber
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security resiliency is more urgent now
2:13
than
2:15
ever and briger general what additional
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tools and skills will our current cyber
2:21
security Workforce need uh to be able to
2:24
deal with
2:25
this uh Senator thank you for the
2:27
question I I as you as you point out
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there's there's certainly a shortage of
2:31
it Professionals in in this country one
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of the things from the aviation
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perspective that uh we work very closely
2:36
on is that it's hard to find um it
2:39
professionals that have both it
2:41
experience and Aviation experience so in
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many cases we have to bring them bring
2:45
folks in and we provide them that
2:46
additional training so they understand
2:48
the specifics of Aviation it and so um
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that that would be one thing I would say
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that for for companies that are looking
2:56
for for folks to um populate their team
2:59
is that you have to think about how do
3:01
you internally train these folks you
3:03
know how do you actually bring them on
3:04
board and and actually provide them the
3:07
necessary skills to not just stay ahead
3:09
but understand the industry they're
3:10
participating
3:12
in um and just last question Mr little
3:16
um just on the same topic in your
3:18
testimony you note how federal agencies
3:21
like cyber security and infrastructure
3:24
Security Agency um have helped the
3:27
Seattle Airport improve Workforce
3:29
Development I think we've got 464,000
3:31
unfilled cyber security jobs in the US
3:35
one and three of those unfilled jobs are
3:37
in the federal government tell me what
3:39
you think the federal government should
3:40
do to get those numbers to be in a much
3:43
better place so um well we can pay
3:47
people more um but one one of the things
3:51
I think we can do is we have to attract
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um uh
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expertise pretty much before they start
3:59
going to college start getting them
4:01
interested in the aviation um industry
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so they see Aviation as a career and so
4:06
they can start uh deciding on Aviation
4:08
career you know before um you know they
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decide to go to some other um
4:15
industry okay very good thank you very
4:18
much thank you
4:19
chair thank you uh Senator clob Bard
4:22
Senator Bud thank you chair and again I
4:25
thank the panel for being
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