By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - A government watchdog report on Monday shows communications between US air traffic controllers and commercial airplanes are "incredibly insecure" and the Federal Aviation Administration must take steps to address threats, Senator Ron Wyden said.
The Government Accountability Office said the FAA has not completed risk assessments and updated security documentation needed to address spoofing and jamming threats, and does not have a real-time detection
capability for all spectrum-related threats.
"This sobering report from GAO reveals that the technology used by air traffic controllers to communicate with aircraft is incredibly insecure, can be intercepted, impersonated, and jammed, and that hackers and foreign governments can exploit these vulnerabilities to disrupt air travel and even put passengers at risk," Wyden said.
The report said hackers could transmit fraudulent clearance cancellations or other messages to airplanes potentially leading to flight delays, airspace disruptions or safety issues.
Wyden added, the "FAA’s failure to require the aviation industry to use secure communications is a major threat to U.S. national security, to our economy and the safety of the flying public."
The FAA did not immediately comment.
Two systems for sending messages to aircraft were developed before modern cybersecurity safeguards became commonplace and lack common encryption safeguards.
The FAA said in response to the report it agreed with GAO's nine recommendations.
"As aircraft and flight operations become more interconnected, cyber and electromagnetic vulnerabilities pose increasing risks to critical systems, including air traffic control, data communications and avionics," the FAA said.
Spoofing and jamming have been a big issue in Europe for critical satellite navigation systems.
Estonia and its neighbor Finland have blamed Russia for jamming GPS navigation devices in the region's airspace, charges that Moscow has denied. One incident in 2025 involved a Spanish military jet with the country's defense minister onboard.
(Reporting by David ShepardsonEditing by Nick Zieminski and Franklin Paul)
