{"id":"https://openalex.org/W3169876786","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3457339.3457985","title":"You talkin' to me? Exploring Practical Attacks on Controller Pilot Data Link Communications","display_name":"You talkin' to me? Exploring Practical Attacks on Controller Pilot Data Link Communications","publication_year":2021,"publication_date":"2021-05-24","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W3169876786","doi":"https://doi.org/10.1145/3457339.3457985","mag":"3169876786"},"language":"en","primary_location":{"id":"mag:3169876786","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/publications/publication14494-abstract.html","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":null},"type":"article","indexed_in":[],"open_access":{"is_oa":false,"oa_status":"closed","oa_url":null,"any_repository_has_fulltext":false},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5074514251","display_name":"Joshua Smailes","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2200-1066"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I40120149","display_name":"University of Oxford","ror":"https://ror.org/052gg0110","country_code":"GB","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I40120149"]}],"countries":["GB"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Joshua Smailes","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of Oxford, Oxford , United Kingdom#TAB#"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2200-1066","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of Oxford, Oxford , United Kingdom#TAB#","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I40120149"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5029974708","display_name":"Daniel Moser","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9324-3965"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Daniel Moser","raw_affiliation_strings":["Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science + Technology, Zurich, Switzerland"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9324-3965","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science + Technology, Zurich, Switzerland","institution_ids":[]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5102707942","display_name":"Matthew Smith","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6901-2518"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I40120149","display_name":"University of Oxford","ror":"https://ror.org/052gg0110","country_code":"GB","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I40120149"]}],"countries":["GB"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Matthew Smith","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of Oxford, Oxford , United Kingdom#TAB#"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6901-2518","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of Oxford, Oxford , United Kingdom#TAB#","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I40120149"]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5079874685","display_name":"Martin Strohmeier","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1936-0933"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Martin Strohmeier","raw_affiliation_strings":["Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science + Technology, Zurich, Switzerland"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1936-0933","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science + Technology, Zurich, Switzerland","institution_ids":[]}]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5048330561","display_name":"Vincent Lenders","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2289-3722"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Vincent Lenders","raw_affiliation_strings":["Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science + Technology, Zurich, Switzerland"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2289-3722","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"Cyber-Defence Campus, armasuisse Science + Technology, Zurich, Switzerland","institution_ids":[]}]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5033928805","display_name":"Ivan Martinovi\u0107","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2340-3040"},"institutions":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/I40120149","display_name":"University of Oxford","ror":"https://ror.org/052gg0110","country_code":"GB","type":"education","lineage":["https://openalex.org/I40120149"]}],"countries":["GB"],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Ivan Martinovi\u0107","raw_affiliation_strings":["University of Oxford, Oxford , United Kingdom#TAB#"],"raw_orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2340-3040","affiliations":[{"raw_affiliation_string":"University of Oxford, Oxford , United Kingdom#TAB#","institution_ids":["https://openalex.org/I40120149"]}]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":1,"institutions_distinct_count":6,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":0.6413,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":4,"citation_normalized_percentile":{"value":0.7062738,"is_in_top_1_percent":false,"is_in_top_10_percent":false},"cited_by_percentile_year":{"min":90,"max":97},"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11504","display_name":"Advanced Authentication Protocols Security","score":0.9979000091552734,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1705","display_name":"Computer Networks and Communications"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11504","display_name":"Advanced Authentication Protocols Security","score":0.9979000091552734,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1705","display_name":"Computer Networks and Communications"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10951","display_name":"Cryptographic Implementations and Security","score":0.9955000281333923,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11800","display_name":"User Authentication and Security Systems","score":0.9825999736785889,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1710","display_name":"Information Systems"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-security","display_name":"Computer security","score":0.5928818583488464},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-science","display_name":"Computer science","score":0.5562781095504761},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/data-link","display_name":"Data link","score":0.555286169052124},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/authentication","display_name":"Authentication (law)","score":0.5124264359474182},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/protocol","display_name":"Protocol (science)","score":0.509833037853241},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/key","display_name":"Key (lock)","score":0.4986271858215332},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/controller","display_name":"Controller (irrigation)","score":0.49264103174209595},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/computer-network","display_name":"Computer network","score":0.469437837600708},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/air-traffic-control","display_name":"Air traffic control","score":0.44883108139038086},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/engineering","display_name":"Engineering","score":0.27797842025756836}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C38652104","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3510521","display_name":"Computer security","level":1,"score":0.5928818583488464},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.5562781095504761},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C182132293","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1172466","display_name":"Data link","level":2,"score":0.555286169052124},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C148417208","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4825882","display_name":"Authentication (law)","level":2,"score":0.5124264359474182},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780385302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q367158","display_name":"Protocol (science)","level":3,"score":0.509833037853241},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C26517878","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228039","display_name":"Key (lock)","level":2,"score":0.4986271858215332},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C203479927","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5165939","display_name":"Controller (irrigation)","level":2,"score":0.49264103174209595},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C31258907","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1301371","display_name":"Computer network","level":1,"score":0.469437837600708},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C166961238","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q221395","display_name":"Air traffic control","level":2,"score":0.44883108139038086},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C127413603","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11023","display_name":"Engineering","level":0,"score":0.27797842025756836},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C86803240","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q420","display_name":"Biology","level":0,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C71924100","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11190","display_name":"Medicine","level":0,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C146978453","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3798668","display_name":"Aerospace engineering","level":1,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C204787440","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q188504","display_name":"Alternative medicine","level":2,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C142724271","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7208","display_name":"Pathology","level":1,"score":0.0},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C6557445","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q173113","display_name":"Agronomy","level":1,"score":0.0}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"mag:3169876786","is_oa":false,"landing_page_url":"https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/publications/publication14494-abstract.html","pdf_url":null,"source":null,"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":null}],"best_oa_location":null,"sustainable_development_goals":[{"display_name":"Industry, innovation and infrastructure","score":0.6299999952316284,"id":"https://metadata.un.org/sdg/9"}],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":10,"referenced_works":["https://openalex.org/W1505328888","https://openalex.org/W1514081958","https://openalex.org/W1895692325","https://openalex.org/W1996360405","https://openalex.org/W2086174184","https://openalex.org/W2125772826","https://openalex.org/W2169908972","https://openalex.org/W2566099611","https://openalex.org/W2602047697","https://openalex.org/W3023839902"],"related_works":["https://openalex.org/W3039938719","https://openalex.org/W1495543004","https://openalex.org/W1499213196","https://openalex.org/W3190380851","https://openalex.org/W1553553432","https://openalex.org/W2885363657","https://openalex.org/W2010290089","https://openalex.org/W2560901351","https://openalex.org/W788913559","https://openalex.org/W2183544337","https://openalex.org/W2108171663","https://openalex.org/W2107649745","https://openalex.org/W786315362","https://openalex.org/W2167690997","https://openalex.org/W343416131","https://openalex.org/W291141266","https://openalex.org/W2111771112","https://openalex.org/W304208711","https://openalex.org/W2072699632","https://openalex.org/W3201059441"],"abstract_inverted_index":{"Worldwide,":[0],"voice-based":[1,34,70],"Air":[2],"Traffic":[3],"Control":[4],"(ATC)":[5],"communications":[6],"are":[7,43],"gradually":[8],"being":[9],"replaced":[10],"with":[11,69,124],"data":[12,181],"link-based":[13],"equivalents,":[14],"namely":[15],"the":[16,28,54,62,79,95,120,139,163,167,173,223],"Controller":[17],"Pilot":[18],"Data":[19],"Link":[20],"Communications":[21],"(CPDLC)":[22],"system.":[23],"This":[24,141],"helps":[25],"to":[26,56,99,111,122,162,188,213],"manage":[27],"high":[29],"levels":[30,38],"of":[31,49,64,97,146,176,192,198],"congestion":[32],"on":[33,113,132,138,150],"ATC---under":[35],"modern":[36],"traffic":[37],"these":[39,216],"analog":[40],"voice":[41],"channels":[42],"extremely":[44],"busy,":[45],"especially":[46],"at":[47],"times":[48],"peak":[50],"traffic.":[51],"CPDLC":[52,72,83,98,157],"offers":[53],"ability":[55],"conduct":[57],"most":[58],"ATC":[59],"actions":[60],"in":[61],"form":[63],"digital":[65],"text-based":[66],"messages.":[67],"As":[68],"ATC,":[71],"has":[73],"no":[74],"built-in":[75],"security":[76,87],"mechanisms.":[77],"Furthermore,":[78],"links":[80],"which":[81,155],"carry":[82],"do":[84],"not":[85],"have":[86],"mechanisms":[88],"either.":[89],"In":[90,186],"this":[91,108,177,190],"paper,":[92],"we":[93,194],"analyze":[94],"susceptibility":[96],"attacks":[100,112,131],"by":[101],"a":[102,125,135,144,180,205],"software-defined":[103],"radio":[104],"(SDR)-equipped":[105],"attacker.":[106],"Crucially,":[107],"is":[109],"different":[110,199],"aviation":[114],"surveillance":[115],"systems,":[116],"as":[117],"it":[118],"requires":[119],"attacker":[121],"comply":[123],"larger":[126],"authentication":[127],"protocol.":[128,140,225],"We":[129,170,210],"identify":[130],"CPDLC,":[133],"including":[134,201],"man-in-the-middle":[136],"attack":[137,142,178],"enables":[143],"take-over":[145],"an":[147,151],"aircraft's":[148],"communication":[149],"attacker-specified":[152],"frequency,":[153],"after":[154],"arbitrary":[156],"commands":[158],"can":[159,218],"be":[160,219],"transmitted":[161],"target":[164],"without":[165,221],"alerting":[166],"legitimate":[168],"controller.":[169],"empirically":[171],"assess":[172],"likely":[174],"effectiveness":[175],"through":[179],"collection":[182],"and":[183,204],"analysis":[184],"exercise.":[185],"order":[187],"counteract":[189],"type":[191],"attack,":[193],"propose":[195],"three":[196],"countermeasures":[197,217],"complexities,":[200],"logical":[202],"checks":[203],"public":[206],"key":[207],"infrastructure":[208],"approach.":[209],"also":[211],"estimate":[212],"what":[214],"extent":[215],"implemented":[220],"altering":[222],"underlying":[224]},"counts_by_year":[{"year":2023,"cited_by_count":3},{"year":2022,"cited_by_count":1}],"updated_date":"2026-06-11T09:08:48.828518","created_date":"2025-10-10T00:00:00"}
