OpenSky: A swiss army knife for air traffic security research

The Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) protocol is one of the key components of the next generation air transportation system. Since ADS-B will become mandatory by 2017 in the European airspace, it is crucial that aspects such as its security and privacy are promptly investigated by the research community. However, as expensive specialized equipment was previously necessary to collect real-world data on a large scale, such data has not been freely accessible until now. To enable researchers around the world to conduct experimental studies based on real air traffic data, we have created OpenSky, a participatory sensor network for air traffic research. In this paper, we describe the setup and capabilities of OpenSky, and detail some of the research into air traffic security that we have conducted using OpenSky.