New FAA Regulations Target Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities In Aircraft Design

The Federal Aviation Administration ("FAA") has proposed new rules to standardize its criteria for addressing cybersecurity threats for transport category airplanes, engines, and propellers.

On August 21, 2024, the FAA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") to codify current industry cybersecurity practices and address vulnerabilities that may result in an adverse effect on aircraft security. This comes after the May 2024 enactment of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which gives the FAA Administrator sole rulemaking authority to implement cybersecurity regulations for aircraft, aircraft engines, propellers, and appliances.

The NPRM notes that, as the current trend in aircraft design has integrated the airplane, engine, and propeller systems with internal and external networks, the FAA's airworthiness regulations are "inadequate and inappropriate to address the cybersecurity vulnerabilities caused by [this] increased interconnectivity." Such