# Smart Airport Cybersecurity: Threat Mitigation and Cyber Resilience Controls +
## 6 Conclusions  
In this article, we have outlined how technological advances and IoT technologies may change the security threat models in aviation and influence the operational efficiency of smart airports. In order to extract information from airport security professionals, about their cyber-security efforts and risk management activities, we started our research with an online survey for airport's cybersecurity. However, we confronted a decline from participants to fully complete the survey and provide detailed information about their cybersecurity implemented practices. This was a survey limitation, therefore, online desktop research for each airport's technological situation and related work on cybersecurity best practices have also been investigated. This study focused on cyber-attacks that may occur from malicious actions as the incorporation of smart applications in airports introduces new vulnerabilities. With the motive to increase cyber security awareness to all airport's stakeholders, we have tried to expose in a simple and understandable way, key issues of cyber security in smart airports. Commercial airports are required to develop their own policies to enhance cyber security, nowadays, since our survey has revealed that there is a large variation in the way airports implement measures to protect networked infrastructures and design cybersecurity solutions. Due to the fact that each airport has a variety of ICT applications, being operated within the airport perimeter, the resulting cyber security landscape has become very large and complicated. Our research also revealed the disparity amongst airports in the methods and the degree of applying cyber security best practices. While smart airports are having a more mature cyber security posture, basic airports seem to have limited resources dedicated to cyber defense and resilience. Technical based cybersecurity practices have a better implementation rate for all airport categories, while organizational practices, policies and standards keep lower levels of implementation, including low levels of cyber security awareness and training prioritization. Although smart airports perform the majority of good practices examined in our survey, security gaps have been revealed. Besides, the rapid advance of IoT technologies, along with the slower pace of the required regulatory processes, may lead to serious legal gaps for confronting malicious threats in smart airports. These gaps might pose challenges to smart airports for addressing security and safety. Ultimately, as our survey revealed, main security concern to all responders was security awareness. To this conclusion adds the fact that most malicious attacks are launched, due to untrained personnel in security issues. Therefore, the above analysis of attack scenarios, based on malicious intentions, can be supportive to airport community and aviation stakeholders to understand the meaning of acting proactively by implementing best cybersecurity practices. There is a need for identification and development of airport trust framework, helping operators navigate their trust relationships and indicate how smart devices and operators exchange data and operate together. Another important finding of our research was the growing need of educating IT experts and providing specialized advanced training in cybersecurity areas, in order to increase cybersecurity preparedness. Moreover, promoting security awareness of passengers and airports' personnel on the risks posed by new IoT technologies is essential. Securing Smart airports, against evolving cyber threats, is a shared responsibility for all aviation stakeholders, including commercial airports, airlines, business associates and regulators. As a result, a collaborative cyber-resilience model, which defines the appropriate cyber security posture for airports, is quite important nowadays. Airport operators ought to prioritize cyber security initiatives, in order to ensure safety of operations for airlines, passengers and public in general.