05 December 2006

Aviation industry IT security pros feel the pressure

Eleanor Dallaway

IT professionals in the airline industry report are being tested with the security vulnerabilities thrown up by IP-enablement.

This was the finding of a recent survey sponsored by IT services supplier SITA. Eighty per cent of the 157 airline and air freight security professionals interviewed agreed that they feel a greater pressure to respond to IT-related security threats due to the vulnerabilities that IP-based networking encourages.

The three top security concerns were:

• Evaluating the network for vulnerabilities
• Securing IP-based networks
• Adding skills and resources to the IT team

These concerns reflect the pressure to move to IP-based architecture, such as e-ticketing and wireless IP communications. Currently, 78% of airline systems are IP-enabled. By the end of 2008, it is expected that this figure will rise to 87%.

"This rate of IP migration will ensure that network security remains a priority” said Jim Peters, chief technology officer of SITA. Thirty per cent of those surveyed claimed to review IT security every three months, and the remaining majority do so every seven months.

The survey revealed that of the IT budget available, a very significant eight to nine per cent is spent on IT security. In 2007, this is expected to increase to 13.5%. So, well ahead of the traditional five per cent.

Lack of internal skills and resources are key drivers for outsourcing security provision. Only 39% of businesses in this sector manage all of their security in-house.

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