Introduction
The management of the aviation industry requires information sharing among different departments. Additionally, there is a need for cross-border communication to guarantee seamless transportation of cargo and people across nations. The fact that the aviation industry transcends national boundaries calls for countries to work together for the success of this mode of transportation (Tubigi & Alshawi, 2015). The airline sector has instituted numerous regulatory requirements to promote the safety of the next generation air transport system (NextGen) and system-wide information management (SWIM) among others. This article will discuss the integrated safety management system (SMS) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) as some of the regulatory requirements used to protect NextGen and SWIM respectively.
Regulatory Requirements
Integrated Safety Management System (SMS)
The aviation industry promotes the safety of NextGen through SMS, which helps to identify and mitigate possible dangers. They include organizational, systems, operational, and equipment problems. Chen and Chen (2014) aver, “NextGen uses a formal, top-down approach to manage safety risks, which includes systematic procedures, practices, and policies for safety management” (p. 379). The SMS constitutes numerous components, which include safety policy, safety assurance, safety risk management (SRM), and safety promotion. The safety policy outlines the responsibilities, accountabilities, and requirements of the SMS. The SRM facilitates the identification, assessment, analysis, and mitigation of potential risks. The safety assurance is the SMS procedure control function, which methodically guarantees that NextGen satisfies the requisite safety requirements. Chen and Chen (2014) hold that safety assurance encompasses the measures used to promote security such as evaluations, audits, data tracking, inspection, and information analysis. Safety promotion entails training, communication, and sharing of security information to facilitate the success of NextGen.
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Service-oriented architecture (SOA) refers to a security archetype used to guarantee the safety of the SWIM program. The safety mechanism helps in the systematization and utilization of distributed capacities that are under the management of diverse users. MacLennan and Van Belle (2014) allege that there is no universal definition of SOA. Nevertheless, it is considered that “the partitioning of functionality into unassociated, self-contained and, therefore, reusable services that can be discovered by potential users is a key feature that differentiates SOA from more traditional architectural paradigms” (MacLennan & Van Belle, 2014, p. 78). SOA facilitates information sharing among SWIM stakeholders. The paradigm achieves this through the use of interlinked registries that outline the available services and the requirements for their use. The Aviation industry prefers SOA because it supports “loose coupling”. MacLennan and Van Belle (2014) argue that loose coupling ensures that a data provider has limited influence on the information user. This safety requirement reduces dependencies, making it easier for services and components to run with limited awareness of other services and apparatus. A client should require understanding only what it entails to secure service and nothing more.
Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability Triad
The primary objective of incorporating safety measures into a system is to guarantee confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CIA) of information being shared. SOA helps in the realization of CIA goals by making sure that service descriptions bear as limited information as possible. In most cases, hackers use search engines or Google to look for service descriptions. SOA enables the aviation industry to share data using limited-service descriptions (Yoon et al., 2014). It prevents unauthorized users from detecting information as it is being moved from one user to another. Moreover, it makes it hard for unlawful users to modify information. The use of limited service descriptions prevents possible attacks like distributed denial of service (DDoS). It helps to warrant the availability of data at all times.
The SMS supports information audit, data tracking, and analysis. The three functionalities are aimed at guaranteeing the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. Information audit helps to ascertain the integrity of data. It makes sure that users have access to uncompromised information (Gerede, 2015). Data tracking helps to guarantee the availability of information to end-users. The aviation industry uses data tracking and analysis functionalities to detect information loss or modification and take the appropriate steps. Information audit helps to ensure that data reaches the intended users, therefore preserving its privacy.
Advantages and Disadvantages
SMS and SOA are associated with numerous advantages and disadvantages. One of the benefits of SMS is that it enables an aviation company to deal with security threats proactively. It also facilitates infrastructure development. Gerede (2015) maintains that SMS emphasizes the development of a comprehensive safety apparatus, therefore guaranteeing the security of an entire organization. The main disadvantage of SMS is that it is costly to implement and requires experienced personnel to manage. Thus, an organization has to incur the costs attributed to employee training. On the other hand, SOA promotes interconnection and efficient use of the available resources (Yoon et al., 2014). Moreover, it enables the aviation industry to have a holistic view of a problem. The major disadvantage of SOA is that it is complex to implement and can be costly in terms of power consumption.
Conclusion
Information security is of the essence in the aviation industry to facilitate data sharing. SMS and SOA are two regulatory requirements that the aviation industry uses to aid in information sharing. The two safety measures are helpful in guaranteeing the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data that is shared within the industry. SMS allows the aviation business to address safety threats proactively. The SOA enables the efficient use of organizational resources. The two safety measures are intricate and costly to execute.
Reference List
Chen, C., & Chen, S. (2014). Measuring the effects of safety management system practices, morality leadership, and self-efficacy on pilots’ safety behavior: Safety motivation as a mediator. Safety Science, 62(1), 376-385.
Gerede, E. (2015). A study of the challenges to the success of the safety management system in aircraft maintenance organizations in Turkey. Safety Science, 73(1), 106-116.
MacLennan, E., & Van Belle, J. (2014). Factors affecting the organizational adoption of service-oriented architecture (SOA). Information Systems and e-Business Management, 12(1), 71-100.
Tubigi, M., & Alshawi, S. (2015). The impact of knowledge management process on organizational performance: The case of the airline industry. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 28(2), 167-185.
Yoon, I., Kim, J., Hwang, S., Cheong, W., Choi, S., Chung, J., & Park, H. (2014). Plant to establish the SWIM local server and test-bed for SWIM. International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security, 14(2), 47-53.