| Given the proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for military and commercial purposes, there is a fast-approaching need for comprehensive and robust systems which secure UAVs for public safety and assurance of military goals. This thesis describes research aimed at the development of a comprehensive cyber security system which protects UAVs against hardware and software attacks. The described approach monitors the UAV operation, addressing its behavioral patterns at the lowest and highest semantic levels. Direct monitoring of the autopilot on-board the UAV, as well as the lowest level of its operating system, reveals if any malicious software has altered the function of the aircraft. Through testing, this method demonstrates its ability to detect changes to the control flow of the autopilot, as well as the detection of any malicious events on the UAV's computer, providing additional security measures to the UAV. |
