Aviation Security Research Articles

Learning residue-aware correlation filters and refining scale for real-time UAV tracking

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based tracking finds its applications in agriculture, aviation, navigation, transportation and public security, etc and develops rapidly recently. However, due to limitations of computing resources, battery capacity, requirement of low power and maximum load of UAV, the deployment of deep learning-based tracking algorithms in UAV is currently not feasible and therefore discriminative correlation filters (DCF)-based trackers have stood out in UAV tracking community for their high efficiency and appealing robustness on a single CPU. But confronted with difficult challenges the efficiency and accuracy of existing DCF-based approaches is still not satisfying. Inspired by the good optimization properties associated with residue representation, in this paper we exploit the residue nature inherent to videos and propose residue-aware correlation filters which demonstrate better convergence properties in filter learning. In addition, we propose a scale refinement strategy to improve the wildly adopted discriminative scale estimation in DCF-based trackers, which, in fact, greatly impacts the precision and accuracy of the trackers since accumulated scale error degrades the appearance model as online updating goes on. Extensive experiments are conducted on four UAV benchmarks, namely, UAV123@10fps, DTB70, UAVDT and Vistrone2018 (VisDrone2018-test-dev). The results show that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance in UAV tracking.

The Importance of Self-Defense Competence for Aviation Security Personnel

This study was conducted at the Palembang Aviation Polytechnic in April 2021 until October 2021. The method used in this study is descriptive. This research is descriptive in nature, namely reporting observations on phenomena in the field or social. Data collection techniques using questions in the form of a questionnaire via google forms, observations made by the author, and interviews with the Aviation security training instructor at the Palembang Aviation Polytechnic. The research population is all flight security personnel throughout Indonesia by taking sample data which is the result of responses from respondents who enter after distributing Google Forms for two months since the questionnaire was distributed from April-June 2021. The result showed that self-defense is the answer to these problems because self-defense can be interpreted as internal competence to defend oneself, a group or even a country.

Legal, Regulatory and Technical Responses to Terrorism in the Aviation Industry in Kenya

The impact of terrorists’ acts against the civil aviation industry cannot be gainsaid. It exerts immense pressure on the national and human security of many nations. Regrettably, there has been a barrage of terrorist attacks against aircraft and airport installations since the dawn of powered passenger flight. The study sought to examine the legal, regulatory and Technical responses to terrorism in the aviation industry in Kenya and employed the exploratory research design. Secondary data was collected from government publications, websites, internal records and reports, conference proceedings, research articles, and books, among others. The data collected were analysed thematically. From the study finding, it is evident that aviation security became a challenge, especially in the 1960s following an increase in the number of terrorist attacks in the industry. ICAO’s legal, regulatory and technical responses through international conventions and protocols to address the challenge were reactionary in nature especially in the period before the 9/11 US attacks. A review of their ineffectiveness called for responses that were more proactive and preventive in nature, as a better solution in mitigating terrorism in the industry. This called for the need for cooperation among various security supporting agencies in many states’ aviation industries. Presently, there are extensive counterterrorism responses employed in Kenya. These include legal, regulatory, and technical multiagency responses frameworks. Based on the study findings, the study makes the following recommendations. First and foremost, there is a need to undertake training for security personnel to better implement the legal, regulatory, and technical responses. There should also be an effort to strengthen the capacities of agencies to better respond to terrorism threats in the aviation industry through legislation, training, and funding interventions.

International Law Foundations and Conditions for the Formation of the Russian System of Administrative and Legal Support for Aviation Security

The Russian state system for ensuring aviation security is based on legislation that defines the goals, objectives, principles and a legal status of participants in transport legal relations. The purpose of the study was to determine the international legal foundations and conditions that contribute to the development of Russian legislation in the field of transport security, to study international experience in the fight against terrorism in transport and the main provisions of convention decisions that establish mandatory requirements for participating countries. The paper presents the results of the analysis of international, Russian legislation and the opinions of scientists, practitioners regarding the formation of a sustainable Russian system of transport security, its integration into the international security system. It describes various convention interpretations of the concepts of «aircraft in flight», «illegal acts on board an aircraft», various approaches to determining the jurisdiction of states. Proposals have been made to supplement Art. 20.1 «Petty hooliganism» of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with the part providing for liability for petty hooliganism committed on board: «Petty hooliganism, that is, a violation of public order that threatens or may threaten the safety of the aircraft.»

Legal, Regulatory and Technical Responses to Terrorism in the Aviation Industry in Kenya

The impact of terrorists’ acts against the civil aviation industry cannot be gainsaid. It exerts immense pressure on the national and human security of many nations. Regrettably, there has been a barrage of terrorist attacks against aircraft and airport installations since the dawn of powered passenger flight. The study sought to examine the legal, regulatory and Technical responses to terrorism in the aviation industry in Kenya and employed the exploratory research design. Secondary data was collected from government publications, websites, internal records and reports, conference proceedings, research articles, and books, among others. The data collected were analyzed thematically. From the study finding, it is evident that aviation security became a challenge, especially in the 1960s following an increase in the number of terrorist attacks in the industry. ICAO’s legal, regulatory, and technical responses through international conventions and protocols to address the challenge were reactionary especially in the period before the 9/11 US attacks. A review of their ineffectiveness called for responses that were more proactive and preventive, as a better solution in mitigating terrorism in the industry. This called for the need for cooperation among various security supporting agencies in many states’ aviation industries. Presently, there are extensive counterterrorism responses employed in Kenya. These include legal, regulatory, and technical multiagency response frameworks. Based on the study findings, the study makes the following recommendations. First and foremost, there is a need to undertake training for security personnel to better implement the legal, regulatory, and technical responses. There should also be an effort to strengthen the capacities of agencies to better respond to terrorism threats in the aviation industry through legislation, training, and funding interventions.

Provision of technical measures for aviation security

Provision of technical measures for aviation security

АНАЛІЗ ВІДПОВІДНОСТІ РЕГУЛЮВАННЯ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ПОВІТРЯНОГО ТРАНСПОРТУ УКРАЇНИ ВИМОГАМ ЄВРОПЕЙСЬКОГО СОЮЗУ ДО КРАЇН – КАНДИДАТІВ

The article is devoted to the analysis of the conformity of the regulation of air transport activities of Ukraine with the requirements of the European Union to the candidate countries and the determination of priorities for the development of Ukraine in the field of civil aviation. Systematization of the questionnaire made it possible to determine its general and profile content blocks: air transportation; airport management; provision of air navigation services; aviation insurance; aviation security; aviation security; ensuring environmental friendliness of air transport activities; participation in international activities; social protection of aviation personnel; administrative capacity of air transport. A meaningful analysis of the profile blocks shows the positive dynamics of bringing the requirements for flight operation in the civil aviation of Ukraine into compliance with the international requirements for aviation safety, the introduction of appropriate procedures for Ukrainian aviation enterprises and objects of aviation activity by incorporating the relevant directives and regulations of the European Union into the Air Code, Aviation Rules of Ukraine and other regulatory documents. The latter allowed Ukrainian air carriers that have a valid operator's certificate, issued in accordance with the requirements and procedures for flight operation in civil aviation, approved by the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, to continue unhindered passenger and cargo flights, including in EU countries, under martial law conditions and bans on the use of Ukrainian airspace by civil aircraft. A conclusion was drawn on the expediency of ensuring the further development, adoption and implementation of aviation rules of Ukraine in accordance with the standards and recommended practice of the International Civil Aviation Organization, regulations of the International Air Transport Association, the European Association for the Safety of Air Navigation ("Eurocontrol"), the European Aviation Safety Agency, others international aviation organizations and taking into account the legislation of the European Union in the field of civil aviation.

Aviation attacks based on ILS and VOR vulnerabilities

Aim: As the aviation industry grows more digital and reliant on wireless technology, it has grown more appealing to cyber criminals, including nation-state actors and terrorists. Vulnerabilities in a wide range of networked devices and (sub)systems, as well as their implementations and design defects, can be used to carry out malicious operations. The purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive survey threats on aviation communication models. Methods: We describe an overview of aviation threat model and attacks. A detailed taxonomy predicated on security vulnerability is presented. Further, this paper discusses the research aspects and challenges to be taken care of in aviation security and communication Finally, we conclude with a summary of the current state of threats and their consequences for widely-used aviation models. Results: The main findings of this study is to introduce fundamental security vulnerabilities of aviation model and classify into categories to efficiently analyze them. Vulnerabilities of VOR, ILS systems and their impact are also discussed. Moreover, we describe and assess mitigation systems to defense these attacks. Conclusion: We conclude that the aviation system is still exposed to various attacks. We examine key technological challenges that have been serving as a deterrent to adopting more secure alternative approaches, as well as research avenues where further progress is needed.

Subjects of public administration in aviation security

Subjects of public administration in aviation security

On the issue of the exercise of powers by internal affairs bodies in ensuring public safety at air transport facilities

The subject of the study of the topic under consideration is the implementation of the powers of the internal affairs bodies in ensuring public safety at air transport facilities. The article shows the role of the internal affairs bodies in ensuring public safety through the implementation of the powers assigned to them. The article is a structural presentation of the material on the implementation of law enforcement tasks at air transport facilities. The introduction describes the relevance of the field of aviation transport to meet the needs of society, the high demand of the population for this type of transport, the tasks of law enforcement agencies and air transport enterprises to ensure the safety of citizens while they are at the airport and during the flight. The main part explains the issues related to the use of regulations as a means of preventing persons from entering air transport facilities when performing work related to transport security by checking them against various databases, the results of which are concluded. An idea is given about the use of the norms of legislation providing for liability in the case of an administrative offense or crime. The article may be useful to those who are involved in the process of ensuring security at air transport facilities, law enforcement officers, subjects of ensuring transport security – employees of the aviation security service and departmental security of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, as well as whose interests are related to carrying out work at such facilities, and citizens using air transport services. Thus, the concentration of efforts in the field of public safety, based on the application and implementation of legal norms by the subjects involved in this process, understanding the importance of aspects of interaction in the implementation of the powers granted, as well as the overall organization of activities at air transport facilities will allow us to talk about the effectiveness of the entire security system focused mainly on the social needs of citizens and interests states.

Protection of biometric information in the framework of aviation security procedures

Protection of biometric information in the framework of aviation security procedures

К вопросу о совершенствовании деятельности службы авиационной безопасности в России

Introduction: Aviation Security Service is an independent system that ensures the safety of air passengers and the airport as a whole. It has been given a free hand recently, namely, with the adoption of Federal Law No. 491-FZ Dated December 31, 2017 “On Amending the Aviation Code of the Russian Federation for ensuring aviation security”. Before the enactment, these functions were fulfilled by the police. In its activities, the police used some technical means necessary to identify the objects prohibited in circulation, but after the transfer of such powers to the Aviation Security Service, there was a process of improving and digitalizing technical devices, which contributed to improving the quality of screening air passengers, baggage and airport facilities. In its activities, the Aviation Security Service uses a highly systematic improved safety technology; a huge range of high-tech devices is used to ensure this service. But despite the improvement of technologies in the inspection system, the broadening of powers of the Aviation Security Service, there are also several shortcomings in its activities. Such are the gaps in the regulatory framework both for the Aviation Security Service itself and for interaction with the territorial Departments of Internal Affairs in transport. In addition, there is poor recruitment of personnel and corruption component in this area. Purpose: the purpose of the study is to analyze the features of aviation security in Russia and develop measures to improve the activities of the Aviation Security Service. Research methods: the methodological framework for the study is made up of the general scientific methods of cognition. To ensure the objectivity of the research, the analyzed problem is revealed by the authors as a phenomenon using a systematic approach, which allows us to reveal its mechanism in such a way that the theoretical provisions are used with maximum efficiency in practical activities. Research results and conclusions: the authors highlight the features of the activities of the Aviation Security Service in Russia during inspection measures, and also identify the main security problems at the airports.

국제항공화물 공급망 보안 강화를 위한 보안과 세관의 협조체계 구축방안에 관한 연구

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) emphasize securing supply chain security through mutual cooperation between aviation security and customs by establishing a standardized security system by regulations, procedures and practices of international air cargo. Accordingly, in accordance with the Aviation Security Act, the known consignors system aims to secure cargo security before loading air cargo into the aircraft, while the customs AEO system is a public-private cooperation program that focuses on simplification of customs clearance procedures. These systems basically have the same purpose of effectively identifying high-risk cargo through a risk-based approach in international air cargo transportation and preventing risks in advance, and the content that a common basic standard for cargo security must be established is also similar. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a cooperation system by simplifying problems such as cumbersome and redundant authentication procedures and on-site verification through coordination of security requirements for mutual recognition between the two systems. As a result, it is necessary to establish a process for coordinating security and customs

The right of the overflown state to divert or intercept civil aircraft under a bomb threat: an analysis with regard to Ryanair flight 4978

The purpose of this article is to discuss whether a state has a right to divert or intercept a foreign civil aircraft flying above its territory, when the aircraft is under a bomb threat. The analysis stems from the recent incident where a Ryanair passenger jet was diverted to Minsk while flying in Belarusian airspace; however, the article approaches the topic from a general perspective, analyzing the key applicable rules of international aviation safety and security law. The article argues that air sovereignty and national rules on aviation (the latter wherever such exist) provide states acting in good faith the right to divert or intercept foreign aircraft for security reasons. Meanwhile, Article 3 bis of the Chicago Convention does not recognize such a right. The right is also limited by international rules that oblige every state to assist aircraft in distress, as well as rules that emphasize the authority and responsibility of the pilot-in-command. Since mid-air interventions are so rare, the legality of states’ actions must be analyzed case-by-case. Regardless, the legal regime of international aviation does not allow states to respond to security threats in whatever way they please, especially if the threat is a mere pretext for politically motivated action.

Data Augmentation of Backscatter X-ray Images for Deep Learning-Based Automatic Cargo Inspection.

Custom inspection using X-ray imaging is a very promising application of modern pattern recognition technology. However, the lack of data or renewal of tariff items makes the application of such technology difficult. In this paper, we present a data augmentation technique based on a new image-to-image translation method to deal with these difficulties. Unlike the conventional methods that convert a semantic label image into a realistic image, the proposed method takes a texture map with a special modification as an additional input of a generative adversarial network to reproduce domain-specific characteristics, such as background clutter or sensor-specific noise patterns. The proposed method was validated by applying it to backscatter X-ray (BSX) vehicle data augmentation. The Fréchet inception distance (FID) of the result indicates the visual quality of the translated image was significantly improved from the baseline when the texture parameters were used. Additionally, in terms of data augmentation, the experimental results of classification, segmentation, and detection show that the use of the translated image data, along with the real data consistently, improved the performance of the trained models. Our findings show that detailed depiction of the texture in translated images is crucial for data augmentation. Considering the comparatively few studies that have examined custom inspections of container scale goods, such as cars, we believe that this study will facilitate research on the automation of container screening, and the security of aviation and ports.

Impact of the Epidemic Threat on Changes in the Civil Aviation Security System due to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

Impact of the Epidemic Threat on Changes in the Civil Aviation Security System due to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic

The collective securitization of aviation in the European Union through association with terrorism

ABSTRACT This article analyses the expansion of European Union cooperation on aviation security using the framework of collective securitization. It establishes how 9/11 was a precipitating event that put terrorism and aviation security in the spotlight. 9/11 changed the collectively held understanding of the security threat posed by terrorism sufficiently to establish aviation security as a common policy framework rather than a national issue. 9/11 was therefore used by EU actors to convince the EU Member States that they all faced one collective terrorist threat. The subsequent institutionalization of this cooperation contributed to a routinization of aviation practices in the EU. As a result of the association between terrorism and aviation, 9/11 pushed EU Member States into taking action on aviation security. This caused the Member States to acknowledge the need for both the highest possible standards of aviation security and the harmonized enforcement of these standards.

Examining organizational communication on a non-governmental organization: research in civil aviation security officers association

Examining organizational communication on a non-governmental organization: research in civil aviation security officers association

The Performance of Aviation Security Personnel Services at Sentani Airport

Some of the efforts that can be made to improve aviation security performance are by implementing security screening and airport security programme. The study was conducted at Sentani Airport in 2019 using quantitative methods, with the number of research samples taken in total saturation of 50 personnel at Sentani Airport. Data collected through instruments in the form of statement sheets with ordinal scale models that have been tested, linear regression, partial or simultaneous. The research is using path analysis technique. Based on the results of the study show that security screening has a direct effect on flight aviation security of 2.224 and there is a direct influence of airport security programme on Aviation Security Performance of 4.186 and there is a significant positive effect of security screening on airport security programme is 5.491 and based on the results of the study shows that Security screening indirectly has an effect of 1320,879 on Aviation Security Performance through mediation of Airport Security Programme.

Designing and Evaluating an Avatar for On-Person Screening

In aviation security, avatars are generic human figures that are used to display alarms provided by on-person screening systems. One critical feature of these avatars is that they provide no body detail unique to an individual traveler. However, the generic nature of these avatars leaves few landmarks that can be used to map the location of an alarm on the avatar to a passenger. We manipulated two features of an avatar, body detail and grid lines, to create 6 avatars to investigate how design influences estimation of target location. Body detail was manipulated at three levels: no joints, some joints, and direct outline of the passenger. Grid lines were manipulated at two levels: grid lines or no grid lines. The results of the study showed that security screeners were nearly 20% closer to the true target location when the avatar featured landmarks that can be found on a typical passenger.