Using digital twin tech to protect aircraft from cyberattacks

Aircraft cybersecurity is a vital — but often overlooked — part of protecting commercial aviation from bad actors, which is why Cyviation specializes in aircraft risk assessments and solutions. Herzliya, Israel-based Cyviation, founded in 2021, offers intelligence and monitoring solutions to map possible cyber threats to aircraft and related aviation systems. Cyviation determines vulnerabilities and monitors multiple platforms and devices, especially those used for communication, to protect commercial aircraft from cyberattacks, according to the company. Cyviation does this through digital twin technology. Digital twin technology creates a virtual replica of a system that collects and analyzes data in real-time, allowing users to pinpoint weaknesses and predict problems. “The way we are building [these digital twins] is basically from analyzing data only,” Cyviation Chief Executive Eliran Almog says in this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect.” Cyviation does not touch the plane, either physically or through software, Almog says. “We just look at the data — the data of the airplane, the model data and the data [from] maintenance, the specific data of a specific tail number,” he says. “From this data, we basically map the entire network [of] devices, and the connections and communication between the devices, and start to assess, through that digital twin, the vulnerabilities.” In this week’s episode of “Cargo Facts Connect,” hear about using digital twin technology for commercial aviation cybersecurity as Cyviation’s Almog speaks with Cargo Facts Deputy Editor Yael Katzwer.