Analysing the Safety of Collision Avoidance Protocols in Aviation

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Collision avoidance protocols for autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicles form the backbone of a safe and reliable global transportation system. In the case of aviation, the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) is responsible for ensuring the safety of aircraft and reducing the chances of mid-air collisions. However the safety and efficacy of TCAS is yet to be analysed from a security perspective-especially given the current and ever-increasing levels of air-traffic with regard to a protocol conceived nearly two decades ago.This research project aims to model and analyse the constraints specified by TCAS that are required for safe operation. The goal is to determine whether TCAS still meets its operational goals with regard to collision avoidance, and further investigate whether it is vulnerable to malicious attack. The novelty of our research methodology is that we use real-world data (aircraft transponder messages) for our analysis of TCAS's safety, rather than relying on simulations or statistical testing. This allows us to glean accurate and up-to-date information regarding the usage of TCAS around the world. Based on our results, we are then in a unique position to understand the potential risks posed by TCAS, the consequences posed by them, and most importantly - possible methods of remedying them. This project falls within the EPSRC "Global Uncertainties" research area, and more specifically within the "Cyber-Security" core research theme under this category.