Hacking Airplane A2G Systems

Air-to-Ground Communication Infrastructure

Modern commercial aircraft rely on Air-to-Ground (A2G) communication systems to transmit flight performance telemetry, airline operational data, and passenger in-flight internet traffic.

Cellular and Satellite Datalink Architecture

A2G networks utilize high-speed LTE-Advanced terrestrial cellular base stations for over-land routes and seamlessly switch to satellite transceivers when operating over oceans or remote regions.

Vulnerability Analysis in A2G Transceivers

Weaknesses in radio link authentication, protocol parsing, and transceiver handoffs present attack vectors for intercepting or disrupting communications between aircraft and ground stations.

Hardening Connected Avionics Components

Securing A2G communications requires robust network segmentation between passenger Wi-Fi gateways and core avionics buses, combined with mutual authentication across all cellular and satellite uplinks.