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INSIDE THE FENCE Ronnie L. Garrett Editor October 2014 airportbusiness 5 GROUP PUBLISHER: Brett Ryden Brett@AviationPros.com 920-568-8338 EDITOR: Ronnie Garrett Ronnie@AviationPros.com 800-547-7377 ext. 1370 Columnist: Ralph Hood ralph@ralphhood.com SALES National Accounts Managers: Michelle Kohn 800-547-7377 ext. 3344 Mike Ringstad Mike@AviationPros.com 920-568-8307 National Automotive & Truck Manager: Tom Lutzke 630-484-8040 Classified Advertising: Michelle Scherer Mcherer@aviationpros.com 800-547-7377 ext. 1314 International Sales Representative: Lutz Krampitz Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Turkey, Scandinavia +49 (0) 203 456 82 66 • Fax +49 (0) 203 456 85 38 info@krampitzVv.de International Sales Representative: Stephanie Painter United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Italy +44 1634 829386 • Fax +44 1634 281504 Stephanie@painter-lowe.com List Rentals: Elizabeth Jackson email: ejackson@meritdirect.com phone: 847-492-1350 ext. 18 • fax: 847-492-0085 Cygnus Reprint Services For reprints and licensing please contact Nick Iademarco at Wright's Media 877-652-5295 ext. 102 or niademarco@wrightsmedia.com PRODUCTION Art Director: Rhonda Cousin Media Production Rep.: Carmen Seeber Carmen.Seeber@cygnuspub.com CIRCULATION Group Circulation Manager: Jackie Dandoy Circulation Manager: Debbie Dumke Cygnus Aviation Executive Vice President: Gloria Cosby VP Marketing: Gerry Whitty Group Publisher/ Transportation Group: Larry Greenberger Director of Digital Business Development: Lester Craft CYGNUS BUSINESS MEDIA CEO: John French CFO: Paul Bonaiuto VP, Audience Development: Julie Nachtigal VP, Technology: Eric Kammerzelt VP, Human Resources: Ed Wood VP, Production Operations: Curt Pordes Published and copyrighted 2014 by Cygnus Business Media, 1233 Janesville Ave., Fort Atkinson, WI 53538. 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Airport Business (USPS 001-614; ISSN 1072-1797 print; ISSN 2150-4539 online) is published 8 times per year in Feb/Mar, April, May, Jun/Jul, Aug/Sep, October, November and Dec/Jan 2014. Periodicals postage paid at Fort Atkinson, WI and additional entry offices. Change of address or subscription information: Toll Free: 877-382-9187, Local: 847-559-7598, Email: circ. airportbusiness@omeda.com. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Airport Business, Cygnus Business Media, PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Printed in the USA. Canada Post PM40612608. Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: Airport Business, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Canadian GST #842773848. Vol. 28, No. 8 October 2014 INSIDE THE FENCE Ronnie L. Garrett Editor O n Friday, September 26th, one man and a lighter brought U.S. air travel to its knees. FBI reports say Brian Howard, an airport telecom- munications employee, used his access card to enter the radar facility he worked at in Aurora, Ill. He posted his intentions for ill-doing to Facebook 30 minutes after arriving with a black roller bag in tow. Then he started a fire that crippled air traffic across the nation. The fire grounded flights at Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway airports, and led to approximately 2,100 flight cancellations at major airports across the country. Flight cancellations continued on Saturday and Sunday, with 1,100 and 700 cancellations respectively. Though as of press time, air traffic is nearly back to normal, it's unsettling to see what one disgruntled employee can do. This issue of Airport Business focuses on security. And while there have been several examples of physical secu - rity breaches over the past year, we examined a more hidden threat—cyber attacks. Every day single individuals and organized cyber crime operations attempt to breach the networks of our nation's airports. While many of these attacks are thwarted at the gates, some are successful. In June, the federal government stopped a pro- longed operation to spy on aviation systems at 75 U.S. airports. But the attack was first discovered in 2013 and it took till mid 2014 to do anything about it, and the attackers claimed two victims along the way. The reality is that it can take up to 240 days to discover an attack, according to Mark Gazit, CEO of ThetaRay, a national firm offering cyber security solutions. But, he adds, it can take a month or more for an organization to recover. Then there's the fact that according to Andre Allen, information and cyber security manager at GCR Inc., hackers are targeting airports and no one seems to know why and what information they seek. Dom Nessi, deputy executive director and CIO at Los Angeles World Airports, warns that though many airports excel in cyber security, just as many airports have a long ways to go to meet the challenges posed by today's cyber threats. My question is this: If a single man with a can of gasoline and a lighter can cripple the nation's air traffic system, what could a group of organized criminals or terrorists accomplish if they breach airport networks? Could they halt air transportation altogether or worse cause a loss of life? Don't let the warnings of Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) ring true. This organization warns airports will be hacked eventually, and fears there will be a general lack of apathy until such an attack occurs. It's time to step up and be proactive rather than reac- tive. Our nation depends on air transportation and our passengers rely on its safety. Could Hackers Halt Air Transportation? FAA CONTINGENCY PLAN DURING CHICAGO FIRE Currently, O'Hare is handling about 80 percent of its usual traffic volume. Midway is operating at 90 percent. Some airlines have reduced their schedules, but most are flying with- out any problems. The speed in which airports were able to get back to capacity has much to do with the FAA's quick response to the incident. The FAA sprung into action and moved air traffic controllers to other control centers to make up for the loss of the tower in Chicago and help planes reroute and land safely. The contingency plans worked well, say experts, who claim Chicago would still be shut down otherwise, leading to additional shutdowns elsewhere as well. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association released a statement saying the ordeal is one of the most challenging they have faced since Sept. 11, 2001. The FAA expects all operations to return to normal within a couple weeks.