Airlines are facing “close to an asymmetric warfare” from cyber attackers given the difficulty of defending systems when the threat continually evolves, says International Air Transport Association chief executive Tony Tyler. “No business is immune, but aviation is a specific target for those intent on doing cyber mischief and theft – or worse,” he said in a speech at the Civil Aviation Cyber Security Conference in Singapore on Thursday. “Airlines are the highest value target for fraudsters and close to 50 per cent of all phishing attempts are made against airlines and airline passengers, according to one security firm we work with.”
IATA’s membership includes most of the world’s biggest airlines, including Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia Holdings, and the group operates financial systems through which flow $US388 billion of annual air travel related revenues.
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