SMATSA to establish department for fighting cyber crime – Security Operation Center to supervise systems

The importance of cyber security for regular operations and safety of airlines was discussed at the recently held conference on the safety of airports. On that occasion, Marko Dzida, an IT network engineer at the Serbia and Montenegro Air Traffic Services (SMATSA) announced the establishment of a new department within SMATSA's IT sector, which will deal with cyber security.

He clarified for eKapija that the new body will be called the Security Operation Center (SOC) and that it will supervise systems and react in case of safety incidents in critical system networks.

The IT sector of SMATSA consists of the department for network system services, the department for app development and the department for security, which has so far mostly dealt with physical and technical protection and following the regulations, whereas the new department, as said, will also entail a section dealing with cyber security.

– All companies, including those from the aviation sector, have learned the importance of cyber security, primarily because they are all technical companies and their operations depend on IT systems. To jeopardize a company's IT system is to jeopardize its safety. SMATSA is very well protected. The systems we are implementing now are tested and separated from others, and SOC is what we will be working on in the upcoming period. It will be able to react interactively when an incident occurs – Dzida said.

According to him, all systems will be based on an IP network, which enables a greater flow of information, but also increased visibility, which makes the implementation of SOC necessary. He added that all air traffic services in Europe are at the same or a similar level and that some of them have already started implementing this system.

– The implementation of IP increases the visibility of potential viruses. Once you have the option of transferring information, borders are no longer visible. If there's a problem in a neighboring country connected to us through the IP network, there's a possibility of sharing malware through that channel – Dzida explains.

– So far, we have had systems based on direct connections. By switching to an IP network, all traffic will be IP. This is simply a global trend, as the systems and devices used so far will no longer be produced, so the switch to an IP network is something that needs to be done – he pointed out.

The implementation of SOC will be carried out in phases. As already reported, parallel to the implementation of SOC, SMATSA is also planning the construction of a new tower of 75 meters within the Modernization Program. It will be the tallest tower in this part of Europe and one of the ten tallest towers in the world.

S.P.

Kontrola letenja Srbije i Crne Gore SMATSA d.o.o. Beograd

SMATSA

cyber security

Marko Dzida

SOC

Security Operation Center

IP network

SMATSA Modernization Program

ASCE

airport security conference