News

AMC Test and Evaluation Squadron conducts benchmark

  • Published
  • By Susan G. Gotta
  • AMCTES
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY --  AMC Test and Evaluation Squadron (AMCTES) conducted a benchmark C-5M Cybersecurity Adversarial Assessment, becoming the first test of this kind conducted on an AMC aircraft, and among the first conducted on any Air Force Major Weapons System.  AMCTES Test Directors coordinated the development of cyber-attack scenarios, working in conjunction with personnel from the US Army Threat Systems Management Office (USA TSMO), and Lockheed Martin Avionics Engineers.  This assessment was executed at Dover AFB, DE, aboard a C-5M aircraft while on the ground, but operationally configured, with test participants from the 436th Airlift Wing to include the 436th Maintenance Group and the 9th Airlift Squadron.  The Test Team from AMCTES, the sole operational test organization of HQ AMC/TE (Directorate of Test and Evaluation, Scott AFB, IL) facilitated all test activities.

Capt Ryan Tell, Senior Test Director at AMCTES, described the purpose of the test as, “This assessment is to develop scenarios whereby access can be gained to disrupt or disable the aircraft to prevent the aircrew from completing their mission.”  This assessment will provide a baseline to define, and refine, current threat protocols and anti-cyber-attack procedures if vulnerabilities are detected.  USA TSMO acted in a generic adversary role whose goal was to create cyber effects that would inhibit or prevent the C-5 from performing its mission.  Capt Tell further commented, “The test parameters involved providing the cyber-threat team physical access to the electronic systems aboard the aircraft to allow them to attempt to gain logical access to systems that may compromise security."

The test was conducted in two phases.  The initial phase provided the adversarial team access to the C- 5M system architecture, allowing the team to explore pathways to potentially exploit the systems, focusing the cyber-attack on the most likely systems to be targeted by an adversary.  The second phase involved operational aircrew and maintainer test participants conducting simulated attempts at launching an operational mission while the adversarial team attempted parallel cyber-attacks.  The scope of the test involved all major aircraft systems.  It also involved mission support systems that connect to the aircraft via removable media devices or data transfer interfaces.  Data regarding the ability of the test participants to detect, react, and restore systems on the aircraft in response to exploitation was collected.

Recent aircraft major system upgrades, with decreasing reliance on analog displays, has elevated the risk of cyber-security vulnerability to interrelated software systems.  The US Department of Defense has recognized that the detection, exposing, and subsequent protection against cyber-threats is a critical military function given today’s global environment, and has been steadily adopting protocols in its fight to thwart attacks of its IT systems (Winnefeld, Kirchhoff, & Upton, 2015).  This Adversarial Assessment complies with the Secretary of Defense, Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (OSD/DOT&E) policy memorandum directing the accomplishment of adversarial tests for all oversight information systems, and weapons systems Air Force-wide..

Winnefeld, J. A., Kirchhoff, C., & Upton, D. M. (2015). Cybersecurity's Human Factor: Lessons from the Pentagon. Harvard Business Review