Capability for Air Force Weapon Systems Cyber Vulnerability Assessments

Air Force weapons systems have become increasingly sophisticated and technologically advanced. The intricacies associated with advanced technology, however, introduce complexity that makes it difficult to discern cyber vulnerabilities that may exist due to underlying functionality, interconnections, associated subsystems and weaknesses in hardware/software. Although Air Force operations are dependent on proper functionality of embedded device systems that provide the core functionality for weapons systems, there is not an effective means for evaluating security weaknesses against the growing realization of advanced cyber threats. In response to the shortfall, QED is proposing a technology that it has developed and applied effectively in other commercial domains, to include medical devices and commercial aviation. Indeed, QED has applied their tool to effectively identify the attack surface and reduce critical cyber vulnerabilities in fielded devices used directly in critical patient care (e.g., pacemakers, surgical robots and MRI machines) as well as commercial avionics components. The solution focuses on automatically reverse engineering the core attributes of embedded devices that encompass the heart of weapons systems technology. As such, this effort intends to provide an automated means to discern vulnerabilities in embedded devices associated with Air Force weapons systems.