The Cyber Doctor’s 7-Day Series
Prescriptions for a Safer Digital Future
Welcome to Day 2 of 7 in this story-driven series. Each piece reflects a chapter from my journey in cybersecurity—stories where the stakes were high, the risks were real, and the mission was clear: protect not just systems, but lives.
Day 2: Securing the Skies
What It Really Takes to Keep Aviation Safe in the Digital Age
Aviation has always fascinated me—not just because of the marvel of flight, but because it represents trust at its most tangible. Passengers surrender their lives to a system they cannot see.
What they don’t know is that today’s aircrafts, airports, and aviation authorities are as much digital ecosystems as they are physical ones.
And if the digital layer is compromised, trust can plummet as fast as a plane in distress.
My work in aviation cybersecurity took me across borders—to regulators like DGCA India, to authorities like PACA Oman, and to airlines like Emirates, FlyNAS, and Saudi Gulf Airlines.
Each engagement was different. But the one thing they had in common?
A chilling awareness that a single failure could have irreversible consequences.
A moment I’ll never forget
During an assessment with one regional airline, I was reviewing their endpoint protections when I noticed an anomaly. A third-party contractor had remote access privileges that hadn’t been revoked—despite their contract ending months ago.
When I raised the issue, the IT manager casually responded, “Yes, but they never used it.”
That single sentence sent a chill down my spine.
Because in aviation, “they never used it” is not good enough.
If that access had been exploited, it could have affected flight scheduling, baggage control, or even aircraft maintenance systems.
And those are not systems you can afford to fix after a breach.
From Compliance to Airworthiness
Cybersecurity in aviation isn’t just about ISO 27001 or compliance with ICAO Annex 17. It’s about aligning cyber controls with operational safety.
We implemented protocols where:
- Remote access was tightly governed and monitored
- Incident response was mapped to both cyber and safety teams
- Cyber drills included runway simulations—not just IT system checks
- Passenger data protection aligned with IATA cybersecurity guidelines and national aviation privacy laws
What we built wasn’t just security.
It was resilience—at 35,000 feet and on the ground.
Why it matters now more than ever
Modern aircrafts are increasingly software-defined.
In-flight Wi-Fi, real-time diagnostics, predictive maintenance—all wonderful innovations. But they also introduce attack surfaces that didn’t exist a decade ago.
Cyber threats now span:
- Navigation system spoofing
- Ground control communications
- Airport OT systems
- Passenger data interception
And yet, the perception still lingers that cybersecurity is an “IT thing.”
In aviation, that mindset can be deadly.
What I’ve learned
Cybersecurity in aviation isn’t just about protecting data.
It’s about protecting life, movement, and national confidence.
It requires humility, constant learning, and the courage to say, “This is not safe enough,” even when others are ready to sign off.
And above all, it requires remembering that behind every dashboard, there are families, pilots, crew, and passengers—all trusting us to keep them safe, not just in the air, but in the systems that make flight possible.
Tomorrow, in Day 3 of this series, I’ll share how I used AI-driven GRC automation to reduce cyber risk by 50% and streamline compliance across 64 subsidiaries in 19 countries. It’s a story of transformation—from reactive governance to intelligent, self-learning systems.
Until then, thank you for reading.
And thank you for believing that safety in the skies starts with trust on the ground.
Warm regards,
Dr. Lalit Gupta
The Cyber Doctor
www.cyberdoctorlalitgupta.com
he***@*******************ta.com
