[00:11.840 --> 00:19.440] Hello. In the previous talk, we saw a demonstration of ILS spoofing and ADSP-DCAS spoofing. In [00:19.440 --> 00:25.160] this talk, I'll be going over the fundamental principles and security issues of these systems. [00:25.160 --> 00:30.060] The ILS work was done in collaboration with Damian Sherpas and my advisors, Professor [00:30.060 --> 00:36.200] Anjan Ranganathan and Professor Guvara Nobir from Northeastern University. Well, yes, the [00:36.200 --> 00:40.900] ILS part is very similar to what the bad guys did in Die Hard 2. Actually, that was one [00:40.900 --> 00:46.480] of the motivation factors behind this research. Sometimes fiction does turn into reality. [00:47.940 --> 00:53.060] In recent years, the aviation industry has seen a significant rise with approximately [00:53.060 --> 00:59.040] 15,000 flights in the sky at any given time. Of course, with the onset of COVID-19, this [00:59.040 --> 01:04.220] has drastically changed, but nevertheless. Atlanta's Hartfield International Airport [01:04.220 --> 01:09.780] is considered to be the busiest airport. It itself caters to over 2,500 takeoffs and landings [01:09.780 --> 01:16.300] every single day. Right from taxing to the runway for takeoff to arriving and taxing [01:16.300 --> 01:21.780] back to destination gate, these flights rely on a plethora of wireless navigation aids. [01:21.780 --> 01:26.380] Pilots continuously interact with APC using RF channels. Controllers use surveillance [01:26.380 --> 01:32.000] radar for aircraft localization. Automatic dependent surveillance broadcast enables aircraft [01:32.000 --> 01:37.840] tracking. Traffic and collision avoidance systems like ACAS and TCAS also relies on [01:37.840 --> 01:43.560] these ADS-B packets. Flights use satellite systems for general point-to-point navigation. [01:43.560 --> 01:48.060] At the end, instrument landing system gets you safely back on ground even in extreme [01:48.060 --> 01:55.460] weather conditions. In recent years, systems like ADS-B and navigation aids like GPS have [01:55.460 --> 02:00.700] been found to be vulnerable by the researchers. It is possible to include ghost aircrafts [02:00.700 --> 02:05.380] by spoofing ADS-B packets. In the previous talk, we witnessed the effects of spoofing [02:05.380 --> 02:10.660] ADS-B packets to disrupt collision avoidance systems. It has been shown multiple times [02:10.660 --> 02:16.920] how GPS is vulnerable to spoofing attacks. With the advent of real inexpensive software-defined [02:16.920 --> 02:22.640] radio platforms, it has become much easier to fabricate such disturbances. Let's take [02:22.760 --> 02:28.480] a look at instrument landing system in detail. Final approach or landing phase is one of [02:28.480 --> 02:34.320] the most critical phases. According to a Boeing report, about 59% of all fatal accidents [02:34.320 --> 02:39.740] have occurred during the final approach phase. ILS is a de facto landing system used all [02:39.740 --> 02:45.500] over the world. It provides precise guidance even in extreme weather conditions. It has [02:45.500 --> 02:51.620] three subsystems. First is a localizer. It's a component which provides lateral guidance. [02:51.620 --> 02:56.620] Glide slope provides vertical guidance. And marker beacons act as checkpoints during the [02:56.620 --> 03:03.380] approach. Let's look at the localizer in detail. Localizer enables the receiver to [03:03.380 --> 03:08.760] calculate its location with respect to the runway centerline. The instrument guides the [03:08.760 --> 03:14.420] pilot to properly align itself. Antenna array installed at the end of the runway transmits [03:14.620 --> 03:22.200] a 25-watt signal. Transmission pattern creates a lobe on each side of the runway. 90-hertz [03:22.200 --> 03:26.840] tone dominates the region on the left side of the runway, and 150-hertz tone dominates [03:26.840 --> 03:31.460] the region on the right side of the runway. The receiver is configured to interpret the [03:31.460 --> 03:36.800] power levels of the tones and guide the pilot. For example, if the aircraft is on the left [03:36.800 --> 03:41.240] side of the runway, the needle will point right, indicating that the pilot has to fly [03:41.240 --> 03:48.800] right to intercept the centerline. The glide slope helps the pilot to align the aircraft [03:48.800 --> 03:54.220] with the prescribed glide path. Usually, it is a 3-degree path, but it depends on the [03:54.220 --> 04:00.280] environment. An antenna array located near the touchdown zone transmits an 8-watt signal. [04:00.520 --> 04:04.760] The transmitter is similar to that of the localizer. However, it results in a slightly [04:04.760 --> 04:10.060] different pattern. 90-hertz tone dominates the region above the glide path angle, and [04:10.060 --> 04:15.000] 150-hertz tone dominates the region below the glide path. The receiver is configured [04:15.000 --> 04:20.780] to interpret the power levels of the tones and guide the pilot. For example, if the aircraft [04:20.780 --> 04:25.320] is above the glide path, the needle will point down, indicating that the pilot has to fly [04:25.320 --> 04:33.900] down to intercept the glide path angle. In ILS, the localizer uses a VHF carrier, and [04:33.900 --> 04:38.600] the glide slope uses a UHF carrier. There are two main components of the ILS signal, [04:38.740 --> 04:43.640] a 90-hertz tone and a 150-hertz tone. The unique transmission pattern is a result of [04:43.640 --> 04:49.000] elegant analog radio engineering. This unique pattern results in two zones on either side [04:49.000 --> 04:54.280] of the runway. This is achieved by implementing space modulation technique. In this technique, [04:54.280 --> 04:59.560] the characteristics of a received signal are determined by how two signals add up in space. [04:59.980 --> 05:06.040] Thus, they change with respect to the receiver's position. As a direct result, 90-hertz tone [05:06.040 --> 05:11.780] dominates the region on the left, and 150-hertz tone dominates the region on the right. Amplitude [05:11.780 --> 05:19.200] of these tones is equal on the runway centerline. The signal modulator uses two distinct signals [05:19.200 --> 05:26.820] called carrier sideband signal, CSB, and sideband only signal, SBO. For generating the CSB signal, [05:26.820 --> 05:32.760] 90-hertz tone and 150-hertz tones are added. And for generating the SBO tones, these are [05:32.760 --> 05:39.880] added in a slightly different way. Here, 150-hertz tone is inverted, that is, it undergoes a 180-degree [05:39.880 --> 05:46.640] phase shift. These waveforms are passed on to a modulator, which generates the final CSB and SBO [05:46.640 --> 05:54.160] waveforms. This is the design of the signal modulator, which is responsible for ILS's unique [05:54.160 --> 06:00.280] transmission pattern. A CSB modulating tone is modulated with a VHF carrier. To get the desired [06:00.280 --> 06:05.980] amplitude modulation form, the carrier is added back to the modulated signal. This results in a [06:05.980 --> 06:12.220] conventional amplitude modulated signal with a full carrier and sidebands. Similarly, SBO [06:12.220 --> 06:17.940] modulating tone is modulated. Note that the carrier is not added back to the modulated signal. This [06:17.940 --> 06:23.100] results in a double sideband suppressed carrier signal. Before feeding these signals to the antenna [06:23.100 --> 06:28.720] elements, the SBO signal undergoes specific phase shifts. This is done in order to achieve the [06:28.720 --> 06:44.560] desired space modulation. Alternatively, there is a provision of adding Morse code or voice to [06:44.560 --> 06:50.340] the CSB signal. It contains a four character run identifier, which can be used by the pilots to [06:50.340 --> 06:57.640] identify and verify the runway. As compared to the transmitter, the receiver has a rather simple [06:57.640 --> 07:03.480] design. At the receiver, the signal undergoes amplification before it is demodulated. The [07:03.480 --> 07:09.480] demodulated signal is passed to a 90 Hertz filter and a 150 Hertz filter. The difference in DC [07:09.480 --> 07:16.800] voltage of 90 Hertz and 150 Hertz tone is the difference in depth of modulation. This GDM value [07:16.800 --> 07:23.960] is used to calculate the deflection of the instrument's needle. Radio engineering involved [07:23.960 --> 07:29.480] in the pure analog instrument landing system is quite remarkable. However, simplistic nature of [07:29.480 --> 07:34.540] the system also makes it very vulnerable to attacks. Before software-defined radios came [07:34.540 --> 07:40.060] into picture, executing these attacks was extremely difficult, not to mention expensive. [07:40.260 --> 07:45.820] Thus, only state actors had the means to carry out such an attack. However, nowadays, even you [07:45.820 --> 07:50.740] and I can execute such attacks and can potentially cause quite some damage to the cheap pocket-sized [07:50.740 --> 07:58.100] radios. A deeper analysis of the receiver design reveals that the needle deflection is solely based [07:58.100 --> 08:03.640] on the power levels of the received tones. In the past, there have been instances of ILS showing [08:03.640 --> 08:09.280] weird deflections as a result of an aircraft taxiing near the localizer antenna. Thus, [08:09.280 --> 08:14.220] an attacker simply has to transmit a signal which is similar to the real signal. That is, [08:14.220 --> 08:19.180] the attacker need not implement complex phase shifts. This is very similar to a not-so-widely [08:19.180 --> 08:24.300] used landing system called TLS, or transponder landing system, where the landing system relies [08:24.300 --> 08:29.220] on modest transmissions to find the aircraft's position and transmits an ILS-like signal [08:29.220 --> 08:35.340] specifically crafted for that aircraft at that particular location. In these attacks, [08:35.340 --> 08:39.660] attackers' goal is to force the aircraft to overshoot the runway or completely miss the [08:39.660 --> 08:45.040] approach. Given the simplistic nature of the systems, the attacker can manipulate DDM calculations [08:45.040 --> 08:50.360] by simply altering the power levels of the received signals. In our work last year, we [08:50.360 --> 08:55.340] discussed two attacks. First is the overshot attack, which involves signals with fabricated [08:55.340 --> 08:59.660] power levels, and singleton attack, which involves low-power signals to achieve third [08:59.660 --> 09:07.240] objectives. With minor changes, the attacks work for the localizer as well as the glide slope. [09:07.800 --> 09:12.860] ILS implements basic principles of space modulation, that is, how do signals add up in [09:12.860 --> 09:18.220] space. Being a simplex broadcast system, it poses us a fundamental challenge to implement any type [09:18.220 --> 09:25.040] of security mechanism, thus making attacks on these systems quite trivial. With overshadow [09:25.040 --> 09:29.960] attack, the attacker transmits a high-power pre-crafted ILS signal equivalent to what will [09:29.960 --> 09:35.900] be received at a specific location. One important aspect characteristic of a typical wireless [09:35.900 --> 09:41.160] receiver is that it will always lock on to the stronger signal. This property is exploited in [09:41.160 --> 09:46.800] this attack. Since the receiver has a very simple design, the attacker has to transmit a signal [09:46.800 --> 09:52.100] similar to the received signal, even though the legitimate transmitter has quite a complex design. [09:52.100 --> 09:56.120] Hence, the attacker needs to only craft the signals with a specific amplitude. [09:56.260 --> 10:01.640] For example, in this case, this signal represents the signal that will be received at the [10:01.640 --> 10:07.000] runway centerline. Hence, if the attacker wants to cause a deflection, the attacker simply transmits [10:07.200 --> 10:14.300] a signal with altered power levels of 90 Hz and 150 Hz. In this case, 90 Hz is dominant, [10:14.300 --> 10:22.200] thus the needle will give a fly-right indication. The advantage of this attack [10:22.200 --> 10:27.620] is that the attacker has granular control over needle deflections. [10:28.420 --> 10:32.800] Even though the overshadow attack requires just a few watts of transmission power, [10:32.800 --> 10:37.260] we wanted to find if the attack can be made more efficient and stealthy by reducing the [10:37.260 --> 10:42.060] energy footprint. For this, we came up with a single-tone attack. Since the needle deflections [10:42.060 --> 10:46.660] depend directly on power levels of the tones, it is enough to transmit just one of the two [10:46.660 --> 10:51.460] tones that make up the ILS signal. In this way, the attacker can manipulate the power levels [10:51.460 --> 10:56.600] without having to transmit the entire ILS signal. The attacker's signal is similar to a double [10:56.600 --> 11:01.480] sideband suppressed scatter signal, which is very well known to be spectrally efficient. [11:01.720 --> 11:07.920] In this case, the attacker just transmits the 150 Hz tone. As a result, the amplitude of 150 Hz [11:07.920 --> 11:14.200] is greater than that of 90 Hz tone. Thus, the instrument shows a fly-left indication. [11:15.160 --> 11:19.800] This attack, as compared to an overshadow attack, has low power requirements. However, [11:19.800 --> 11:23.880] this attack is sensitive to phase difference between attacker tone and legitimate tone, [11:23.880 --> 11:30.060] which makes it quite complicated. The two attacks may seem quite simple and straightforward. [11:30.060 --> 11:34.360] However, there are certain challenges associated with executing these attacks. [11:34.360 --> 11:39.100] First is that the aircraft can intercept the localizer from multiple directions. [11:39.100 --> 11:44.280] If the attacker is not careful while starting the spoofer, it may result in sudden needle jumps. [11:44.680 --> 11:48.680] This results in detection. [11:50.700 --> 11:56.340] The second challenge is with a naive overshadow attack. If the attacker simply starts transmitting [11:56.680 --> 12:02.940] a pre-crafted signal, it results in a fixed, unreactive offset. This will make it super easy [12:02.940 --> 12:08.620] for the pilot to notice something is off and will totally forego ILS or may use some other system to [12:08.620 --> 12:14.140] land. To overcome these challenges, we developed two mechanisms, offset correction algorithm and [12:14.140 --> 12:19.980] spoofing zone detector. Let's look at them one by one. The offset correction algorithm provides [12:19.980 --> 12:25.300] signal corrections in real time. The attacker's signal is adjusted as a function of aircraft's [12:25.300 --> 12:31.060] current GPS location. This provides seamless takeover of the on-board instrument. The [12:31.060 --> 12:37.520] algorithm calculates the difference between the angle with the legitimate path and the spoof path. [12:37.520 --> 12:41.760] This offset is then used to calculate the required amplitude levels of the tones. [12:42.760 --> 12:47.800] The spoofing zone detector is responsible for timely and automated triggering of the attack. [12:47.800 --> 12:52.840] The aircraft can be vectored in on the final approach in multiple ways. Hence, to prevent [12:52.840 --> 12:58.280] any sudden needle jumps, we developed this spoofing zone detector which uses EVANOT algorithm to check [12:58.280 --> 13:04.540] if the target aircraft has entered the spoofing region. The zone covers 17.5 degrees on either [13:04.540 --> 13:10.220] side of the center line and extends 35 kilometers beyond the touchdown zone. The attacker starts [13:10.220 --> 13:20.050] transmitting as soon as the aircraft enters this region. All right, now let's take a look at ADSP. [13:20.110 --> 13:25.130] Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast is a reporting technology where an aircraft repeatedly [13:25.130 --> 13:31.290] transmits position, velocity, and aircraft identification information. These packets can [13:31.290 --> 13:37.630] be received and decoded by MODIS receivers. ADSP is similar to MODIS except it doesn't require [13:37.630 --> 13:44.230] specific interrogation messages. As of January 2020, ADSP transponders are made mandatory for [13:44.230 --> 13:50.630] aircrafts operating under certain conditions in US airspace. ADSP greatly improves safety and [13:50.630 --> 13:55.690] efficiency by providing better situational awareness. It is also spectrally efficient and [13:55.690 --> 14:01.610] costs much less than MODIS setups. Collision avoidance systems like ACAS and TCAS leverage [14:01.610 --> 14:11.310] ADSP packets. These are the signal characteristics. ADSP uses a carrier frequency of 1090 megahertz. [14:11.310 --> 14:16.590] The bandwidth is 50 kilohertz and it uses a simple pulse position modulation technique. [14:16.590 --> 14:25.570] Data rate for ADSP data is one megabits per second and two packets are transmitted for every second. [14:25.570 --> 14:30.790] Polarization of the transmission antenna is vertical and transmission has a transmission power of [14:30.790 --> 14:38.390] about 20 watts. Well, all this is good about ADSP. It improves overall safety by increasing situational [14:38.390 --> 14:43.490] awareness, decreases load on the controllers by automated tracking of aircrafts, overall [14:43.490 --> 14:50.270] decreases operational costs and all. But what about security? Well, nothing. There's absolutely none. [14:50.330 --> 14:56.950] The only thing close to security it has is a checksum. There is no way to know whether a [14:56.950 --> 15:03.090] packet is really from the aircraft that it says it is from. Moreover, everything is in clear text, [15:03.090 --> 15:08.130] which means any person with $30 to spare can effectively set up a so-called air traffic [15:08.130 --> 15:13.350] monitoring center in their homes. This has led to a lot of serious privacy concerns and equal [15:13.350 --> 15:18.370] number of oops moments. For example, when the Air Force One was spotted on one of the flight [15:18.370 --> 15:23.870] tracking websites. But that's not it. The security community has taken one step ahead [15:23.870 --> 15:29.990] and has actually managed to put ghost planes in the sky, which is quite concerning. Think of a [15:29.990 --> 15:35.650] scenario where on a busy day ATC screen is flooded with thousands of aircrafts. What's even more [15:35.650 --> 15:42.230] concerning is the fact that the same insecure system is used in critical avoidance systems. [15:42.230 --> 15:47.750] For example, a demonstration of this was witnessed in the previous talk. [15:49.570 --> 15:55.590] These are some notable prior works which have addressed security and privacy issues associated [15:55.590 --> 16:01.510] with ADS-B. The research community is now actively looking into security and critical [16:01.510 --> 16:07.150] next-generation navigation technologies. OpenStandard Network founded by Stormier et al. [16:07.150 --> 16:13.750] is a crowdsourced network of ADS-B sensors located all over the world. This is a key resource in air [16:13.750 --> 16:22.970] traffic research. Following issues have been identified by the security research community. [16:22.970 --> 16:28.950] ADS-B lacks any kind of authentication. It lacks integrity checks against intentional tampering of [16:28.950 --> 16:35.470] messages. Sure, CRC checks can correct errors, but what if the messages, including the CRC checksums, [16:35.470 --> 16:41.050] are carefully manipulated over the air? It lacks encryption and temporal identities [16:42.050 --> 16:48.910] as it raises a major privacy concern and is a heaven for eavesdroppers. And finally, it lacks [16:49.090 --> 16:54.910] a secure handshake protocol for verification, authentication, and validation of data. [16:55.690 --> 17:02.210] So, with all these issues, what are the threats that the current aviation ecosystem faces? [17:02.350 --> 17:07.210] Well, all these issues give rise to a number of threats, which includes jamming and denial of [17:07.210 --> 17:13.570] service attacks. As discussed earlier, flirting the radar screens with thousands of aircrafts. [17:13.570 --> 17:19.390] Well, intelligence gathering. There have been researches or there have been incidences where [17:19.390 --> 17:26.350] people have inferred or predicted business dealings by simply monitoring flight data, [17:26.350 --> 17:34.870] which was, again, made available through services like Flightradar24 and OpenSkyNetwork. [17:35.150 --> 17:40.930] Well, there is also threat of message injection and manipulation. Disruption of situational [17:40.930 --> 17:46.030] awareness, which is very specific to ACAS and TCAS spoofing. Demonstration of which we saw [17:46.030 --> 17:50.970] in the previous talk. And trust me, you really do not want a pissed-off air traffic controller [17:50.970 --> 17:59.870] when you fly next. Let's look at the ADS-B transmitter. ADS-B transmits position, [17:59.870 --> 18:05.410] velocity, and aircraft identification information. The preamble is used for [18:05.410 --> 18:10.830] synchronizing the receiver and for indicating that an ADS-B packet is arriving. The downlink [18:10.830 --> 18:16.650] format field is an indication of the type of message that is being transmitted. Capability [18:16.650 --> 18:22.250] field defines the subtype of the message being transmitted. Next are 24 bits, which are for [18:22.250 --> 18:28.530] aircraft's IKO address. This is followed by actual ADS-B data, which includes altitude, latitude, [18:28.530 --> 18:34.190] and longitude. At the end, 24 parity bits are transmitted, which helps the receiver to detect [18:34.190 --> 18:42.050] errors. Raw message bits of the prepared frame undergo Manchester encoding. This is a line [18:42.050 --> 18:47.810] encoding scheme, which is very similar to binary phase shift keying. The encoded data is then [18:47.810 --> 18:52.510] modulated using pulse position modulation technique before being transmitted using the [18:52.510 --> 19:00.390] radio frequency front end at 1019 MHz. ADS-B follows a very basic insecure protocol. The [19:00.390 --> 19:06.230] encoding and modulation scheme that is used is easy to implement. Actually, there are [19:06.230 --> 19:11.330] straightforward functions in MATLAB that can perform the encoding and modulation, [19:11.330 --> 19:15.330] thus making it quite trivial to build a transmitter with a couple of hundred dollars [19:15.330 --> 19:21.030] worth of equipment. Even better, there are open source tools out there which can do the heavy [19:21.030 --> 19:27.110] lifting for you. Lack of security measures and simple design makes the system vulnerable to [19:27.110 --> 19:32.290] spoofing attacks. Especially with cheap over-the-shelf equipment like low-cost software-defined [19:32.290 --> 19:38.970] radios, amplifiers, and antennas makes it rather easy to generate and transmit malicious ADS-B [19:38.970 --> 19:46.330] packets. Well, once you have a transmitter design ready and understood, you can simply [19:46.330 --> 19:51.410] code everything and boom, a transmitter is now a fully functional ADS-B spoofer. [19:53.630 --> 19:59.290] This is a small spoofing example. Imagine being a controller and seeing this on your [19:59.290 --> 20:05.310] display. That would really piss you off. Now that we have seen the security issues [20:05.310 --> 20:10.510] associated with ILS and ADS-B, let's go over some potential countermeasures. [20:11.410 --> 20:21.230] Recently, GPS-based landing systems are being introduced. They are not yet cleared for Cat2 and [20:21.230 --> 20:27.950] Cat3. But we all know how vulnerable GPS is. Signal strength monitoring can be implemented [20:27.950 --> 20:33.450] for detecting overshadow attacks. Most of the ILS attacks can be executed from within the [20:33.450 --> 20:38.930] aircraft cabin while it is on the final approach. Hence, detecting transmissions from within the [20:38.930 --> 20:45.250] cabin may prove to be useful in detecting these attacks. Given the simple analog nature of ILS, [20:45.250 --> 20:50.410] it is extremely challenging to develop a feasible countermeasure as it is impossible [20:50.410 --> 20:57.290] to encrypt physical characteristics of a signal. Over the years, various countermeasures have been [20:57.290 --> 21:03.550] proposed for ADS-B. These include cryptographic solutions, which involves message encryption, [21:03.550 --> 21:08.650] message authentication codes, and use of public infrastructure. However, given the widespread [21:08.650 --> 21:17.310] use of ADS-B, it is a logistical nightmare to deploy cryptographic solutions as they require [21:17.310 --> 21:24.110] overhaul of the entire ADS-B ecosystem. Multilateration uses a network of ground [21:24.110 --> 21:30.850] stations which share information. Ghost aircrafts can be easily detected using this technique. ADS-B [21:30.850 --> 21:35.830] data can be combined with primary radar for identifying ghost aircrafts as they won't have [21:36.050 --> 21:42.350] a radar signature. For preventing ACAS and TCAS spoofing, onboard receivers can deploy distance [21:42.350 --> 21:47.710] bounding protocols which can verify the distance between the receiver and the transmitter without [21:47.710 --> 21:53.550] relying on position data received from the ADS-B packets. There is widespread use of machine [21:53.550 --> 22:00.590] learning and AI for anomaly detection and traffic analysis for detecting spoofed ADS-B packets. [22:00.710 --> 22:06.690] Given the simplex broadcast nature or implementation of these systems, it is not [22:06.690 --> 22:12.290] trivial to develop countermeasures which can safeguard against a variety of attacks. [22:13.330 --> 22:17.770] However, finally, the most important countermeasure is effective pilot training. [22:18.130 --> 22:23.230] Pilots should be trained to detect and counter such attacks using instruments at their disposal. [22:24.550 --> 22:25.870] Thank you.