Abstract
In recent years, UASs have become more and more popular. There are many reasons for this; one of the most popular is the enhancement of drones’ functionalities and improvement in battery life, stabilization, navigation, sensor technology, and much more. Many benefits drive growth. However, as the number of drones is expanding and their technological functionalities are evolving, drones’ use brings many concerns and challenges that should not be underestimated. This refers to issues in the area of cybersecurity, privacy, and public safety. UASs, under the international, regional, and national regime of aviation law, are considered aircraft. Since there is no existing cybersecurity framework specific to the UASs, the civil aviation cybersecurity framework should apply to their operations. This paper will focus on the potential cyber threats against UASs, providing examples of cyber-attacks from the past. Further, the aviation cybersecurity framework’s overview will follow to determine the current status of maturity at the international, regional (the European Union), and national (the Republic of Poland) levels. The paper’s conclusion will address the proposed recommendations for the UAS and aviation industries to be considered and potential solutions in terms of applying the aviation cybersecurity framework into the operation of UASs.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Mr. Mariusz Pyzynski, Mr. Tomasz Balcerzak. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Mr. Mariusz Pyzynski and Mr. Tomasz Balcerzak and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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1. Mr. M. Pyzynski is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Institute of Air and Space Law. Faculty of Law and Administration, Lazarski University in Warsaw, Poland (e-mail: mariusz.pyzynski@gmail.com).
2. Mr. T. Balcerzak, Ph.D., is adjunct at Lazarski University in Warsaw, Poland, Faculty of Law and Administration (e-mail: tomasz.balcerzak@lazarski.pl).
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Pyzynski, M., Balcerzak, T. Cybersecurity of the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). J Intell Robot Syst 102, 35 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01399-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-021-01399-x