Cyberattacks are a growing threat to aerospace systems. In response to this emerging safety concern, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has identified cybersecurity as a priority area of focus.
Garrett Jares, a doctoral student in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University, has joined an AIAA initiative in this area, the Aerospace Cybersecurity Working Group (ACWG).
The ACWG is composed of cybersecurity-interested members from across the AIAA and provides opportunities to educate those involved with conceptualization, design, development, testing, deployment, operations, maintenance and management of aerospace systems. The working group seeks to engage in active information exchange among those involved in aerospace-related cybersecurity, documenting the results and making those results available to the broader aerospace systems community. The goal of the ACWG is to enable organizations to improve the confidentiality, integrity and availability of aerospace systems and data.
Jares’ educational experience and doctoral research aligns with the ACWG’s purpose. His doctoral dissertation is focused on investigating cyberattacks that are designed to take control of an aircraft by targeting the vehicle’s sensor data. This research, which was supported by a 2020 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, will help to identify and better understand the vulnerabilities in current systems and develop safeguards against these attacks.
Jares earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Texas A&M with minors in cybersecurity and mathematics (cryptology), and graduated magna cum laude in 2017. He has been working in the Vehicle Systems and Control Laboratory with his advisor Dr. John Valasek, aerospace engineering professor, since his undergraduate senior capstone project. Jares is also a recipient of the 2018 Lechner Graduate Fellowship.