NASA Examines Blockchain Tech to Secure Aircraft Flight Data

NASA Examines Blockchain Tech NASA Examines Blockchain Tech

While the businesses around the world are finding a way to integrate blockchain technology in the business framework, to leverage most of the benefits from it and make the transactions as secured and transparent as possible.

NASA of the US (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) is pondering over the use of blockchain technology in its framework to ensure the better privacy and maintain the confidentiality of the aircraft flight data.

An aero-computer engineer at NASA, Ronald Reisman issued a study paper on Monday, stating that the core nature of blockchain networks and smart contracts could help reduce and control security issues.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered the U.S. to implement a new surveillance system from Jan. 1, 2020. The name of the surveillance system is ADS-B. This Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system will broadcast aircraft’s position, name, and other information publicly.

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However, this new order is worrying stakeholders. Ronald Reisman said that the ADS-B system does not provide any facilities to keep the information about these aircraft secured and private.  Plus, it does not address the possibility for spoofing and other risk factors.

He went on saying that the many civil aircraft companies would want to keep some part of their business data private. If the information gets public, the companies would be vulnerable to many unwanted things.

The Department of Defense defines military airship traffic information in the following way:

The Data which if uncovered would reveal vulnerabilities in the DoD basic framework and, whenever misused, would probably result in the noteworthy interruption, devastation, or harm of or to DoD tasks, property, or facilities.

Considering the sensitivity of related air traffic information, the military requirement for privacy “is probably going to stay decisive in their implementation and utilization of ADS-B,” Reisman composes.

To address these and different issues, the researcher of NASA has introduced a model in the paper, named the Aviation Blockchain Infrastructure (ABI), which is based on Hyperledger Fabric and smart contracts, which permits command over what information is shared freely or secretly with approved entities.

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For example, airship “state information, like its altitude, airspeed, heading, and so on could be kept secure using a private channel, while flight-plan data, like airship type, origin, where it is heading, routes, etc., can be published on an open channel.

For example, airship “state information, like its altitude, airspeed, heading, and so on. Could be kept secure using a private channel, while flight-plan data, like airship type, origin, where it is heading, routes, etc., can be published on an open channel.