Increasing the security on non-networked ground support equipment: Analyzing the implementation of whitelisting protection

Abstract

Within the United States Air Force (USAF), dedicated non-networked computer systems are used to maintain aircraft electronic systems. Traditional security practices like anti-virus (AV) software have been used to protect the maintenance equipment from malware and exploitation by adversaries. Malware sophistication and prevalence from well financed digital adversaries is rising. New layers of digital security must be applied to these computer systems so that both maintenance equipment and aircraft are protected. This paper will focus on implementing application whitelisting software (AWS).