Publication

Vehicle Electronics and Architecture (VEA) & Cyber
2020

HIDDEN VULNERABILITIES: OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CYBERSECURITY SHORTFALLS

by James Correnti; Josh Lospinoso; Michael Weigand; Kara Kramer

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DoD) lacks a unified cybersecurity solution to provides intrusion prevention and detection capabilities to existing weapons platforms, empowering crews, maintainers, and commanders to achieve understanding and inform confidence in the cyber health and status of their systems. In October 2018, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that DoD weapons systems are highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks. We have identified several major inherent vulnerabilities and likely attack vectors for existing weapon systems. Our Technical White Paper will outline the changing threat landscape for operational technology (OT), the vulnerabilities in the cyber-physical systems and shortfalls in addressing these vulnerabilities, and our analysis on critical capabilities necessary to secure military OT.