Method and network to implement decentralized validation and authentication mechanisms to prevent ads-b cyber-attacks

Abstract

A method or network that addresses cybersecurity vulnerabilities in an ADS-B network by validating and authenticating ADS-B messages. Nodes of the network maintain a validated ledger of ADS-B transactions and use validated information from this ledger to improve security against common cybersecurity attacks including, but not limited to, denial of service attacks, jamming attacks, spoofing attacks, flooding attacks and eavesdropping.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15 / 913,383, filed Mar. 6, 2018 in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All disclosures of the document named above are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION1. Field of the Invention[0002]Aspects of the present invention relate to the field of aircraft surveillance and monitoring, particularly toward a process that may be used to augment Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) systems by validating and authenticating ADS-B messages. Specifically, aspects of the present invention relate to using blockchain technology to transmit, distribute, and maintain an immutable ledger or record of communication transactions of all information exchanged using ADS-B between vehicles, thereby solving several cybersecurity vulnerabilities that exist in current state-of the-art systems.2. Description of the Related Art[0003]The Automatic Dependent Surveillanc...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method for ensuring security of the ADS-B network by validating and authenticating ADS-B messages. The method involves a distributed ledger that is created by appending a whole or part of the distributed ledger to an existing local copy of the distributed ledger. The method also includes a consensus algorithm to validate and authenticate the updated local copy of the distributed ledger. The invention addresses major security issues in ADS-B networks, such as loss of integrity, jamming, denial of service, and eavesdropping. The invention guarantees high throughput of validated transactions in ADS-B devices and ground stations. Overall, the invention provides a solution to enhance security of the ADS-B network and protect against cyber-attacks.

Problems solved by technology

Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) systems on-board aircraft can broadcast satellite based aircraft position and flight identification periodically, but suffer from cyber-security problems (most popularly, spoofing) due to the messages being unauthenticated and unencrypted by design.

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