Cyber security methods for aerial vehicle networks: taxonomy,challenges and solution

Aerial vehicle networks (AVNs) compose a large number of heterogeneous aerial nodes, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, aircrafts and helicopters. The main characteristics of these networks are the high mobility of aerial nodes and the dynamic network topology. AVNs represent attractive targets for attackers due to the fact that aerial nodes could be connected to an untrusted network and hence lead the attackers to launch lethal threats, e.g., aircraft crash. Therefore, the security of AVNs is mandatory. In this article, we examine the challenges of cyber detection methods to secure AVNs and review exiting security schemes proposed in the current literature. Furthermore, we propose a security framework to protect an aircraft (SFA) against malicious behaviors that target aircrafts communication systems. Numerical results show that SFA achieves a high accuracy detection and prediction rates as compared to the current intrusion detection for aircrafts communication system.