Precis
The attacks of September 11, 2001, made the US aviation enterprise pay more attention to security. The industry, previously regarded as safe, faced new challenges and risks. Moreover, many experts believe that those threats come not just outside the state but from the aviation industry employees. The unmitigated insider threat to aviation (Part 1): a qualitative analysis of risks (Loffi & Wallace, 2014) deals with the security threats in modern American aviation. The paper’s authors emphasize the crucial role of controlling and mitigating the new risks in the aircraft sphere.
The paper argues that there have been many cases of violation of the principal rules of airport security. It means that the negligence and inactivity of some employees led to existential threats to American security. The article’s authors cite numerous occasions of extreme faults of various airport services, like overlooking the potential preparation of terrorism incidents, misuse of identity documents, and flying without boarding passes. Therefore, the research aims to familiarize the aviation industry stakeholders with insider threats, increase awareness of potential vulnerabilities and develop a holistic list of insider risks in the aircraft industry.
Considering cases of threatening the Nation’s security, the study utilizes specific methodology and research approaches. Much attention was paid to scripted interview questions for six executive aircraft professionals from airports, academic institutions, trade and airline organizations, and the government. The findings have revealed seven significant categories of insider security risks.
Misplaced Trust
Four interviewees designated trust as a core element in promoting internal aviation security, as the principles had recently changed. Some participants noted that it was difficult to point out clear indicators of possible employee malfeasance. Interviewees revealed the necessity to trust vetted staff, whereas the insiders appeared to be a slightly new phenomenon for the industry. One of the most critical findings was the differentiation between crime and terrorism.
Crime
The overwhelming majority of the interviewees brought up an issue of criminal activity by vetted employees in aviation. Some interviewees assumed that some low-level workers considered a crime as an additional questionable benefit to salary increment. Every participant agreed that theft has always been a great concern for airports.
Terrorism
More than half of interviewees considered a potential for terrorist activities even among vetted employees despite a lack of documented insider terrorist events. As a rule, the eventual performer does not have a criminal record and is in a position of trust.
Smuggling
50 % of interviewees noted the problem of narcotics smuggling, which is frequently promoted or implemented by vetted airport employees. There were many opportunities for contraband in the cargo. Therefore, there was a specific collaboration with customs to law some of this stuff.
Undocumented workers
The main trouble with undocumented employees is the lack of information to make security risk decisions.
Workplace violence
There were some occasions when badges and uniforms had not been confiscated. They were used to gain access to the airport facilities without screening for committing illegal acts.
Cyber threats
Information technologies are highly vulnerable to cyber-attacks and insider threats.
Interviews with the six employees revealed seven categories of security threats that occur to be predictable. In some cases, authors pay excessive attention to axiomatic facts and phenomena. More attention might be paid to vulnerabilities related to cyber threats, digital data trespass, and hacker attacks because of the crucial role of information technologies in the aviation sphere.
References
Loffi J.M. & Wallace R.J. (2014). The unmitigated insider threat to aviation (Part 1): a qualitative analysis of risks. Journal of Transportation Security, 7(4), 289–305. Web.