This week, SITA published its 2024 Air Transport IT Insights report and cybersecurity is coming out on top.

The report found that 66 per cent of airlines and 73 per cent of airports defined cybersecurity as one of their top three areas of focus. While the average cost of a data breach was $4.35 million in 2022, the implications extend beyond financial losses, including damage to an organisation’s reputation, disruption of smooth operations, and the potential loss of customer trust.

Taking a closer look at how airlines will be bolstering their cybersecurity, SITA found that “the emerging technologies with the highest implementation (or planned implementation) rates are ‘security operations centres (SOC)’ at 87 per cent and ‘artificial intelligence/machine learning for threat detection and analysis’ at 81 per cent.”

Speaking on these findings, David Lavorel, CEO of SITA, said:

“This year’s findings highlight a pivotal moment for the aviation industry. As cyber threats become more complex, airlines and airports are taking decisive action to protect their operations and passengers. At the same time, biometrics and AI tech are simplifying the travel experience, helping the industry meet growing demand, and build resilience for the future. It’s clear that the air transport industry is going through a transformation, and these numbers prove it.”

The report also noted the greatest challenge airlines are predicting when incorporating cybersecurity measures is ‘ensuring the security of third-party vendors.’ This was ranked in the top three challenges by 67 per cent of airlines. Other concerns include integration with legacy systems (47 per cent), the rapidly evolving threat landscape (42 per cent), and compliance with international and national regulations (39 per cent).

To find out more about the nature of the industry’s predicted $46b IT spend, read the full report here.

 

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