Air traffic engineers wants FG to invest more on cyber security

The National Association of Air Traffic Engineers (NAAE) has urged the Federal Government to invest more in capacity building on cyber security to forestall cyber attacks in the industry.

The re-elected President of the association, Mr Ishaya Dung, made the plea in Lagos on Sunday.

Dung said the training would further prevent cyber attacks on the Communication Navigation and Surveillance /Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) domain.

He spoke at the 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association at the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Conference Centre, Abuja.

Dung was re-elected for second term in office as President of the NAAE.

Also, at the election, which was the high point of the AGM, other members of the executive were re-elected for second.

Dung, who joined the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) in 2002, is a Deputy General Manager, Electromechanical Services department in the agency.

He said the authorities should ensure that Air Traffic Safety Electronics Personnel (ATSEPs) were properly equipped to mitigate the challenge of cyber security which had become a major threat globally.

“International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA) raised concern over cyber attacks in the CNS/ATM domain.

“The approval of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) for cyber security to be included in the competency-based training for ATSEP in document 10057.

“This was a remarkable achievement in the best interest of safety and security of evolving digital interoperable complex CNS/ATM systems,”
Dung said.

He also appreciated the efforts of the Africa Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) in the presentation of a working paper for the harmonisation of personnel licencing at the regional level.

According to him, it will help to facilitate the implementation of personnel licencing in states that have been reluctant, owing to its non-inclusion in ICAO Annex 1.