July 2025
Those of us who vacation in July—the busiest travel month of the year—do so with 72 million fellow Americans.
While we focus on the destination (and whether we packed enough sunscreen), MITRE is focused on the journey itself. Our multidisciplinary research spans all modes of transportation, helping government agencies and industry create resilient and flexible transit systems.
We’re also iterating on the future of travel, applying advanced technology to redefine how we get from point A to B (hello, supersonic flights)—all while keeping public safety as our top priority.
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THIS JUST IN
Cybersecurity Framework for Cryptocurrency
With the historic crypto bill passed in Congress last week, the U.S. is one step closer to accepting digital financial assets into the mainstream. Next step? Keeping them safe.
Getting ahead of threats: MITRE launched a cybersecurity framework that addresses vulnerabilities in digital financial systems called AADAPT™ (Adversarial Actions in Digital Asset Payment Technologies). It’s free, easily accessible, and powered by data from real-world attacks.
Bottom line: The framework provides developers, policymakers, and financial organizations with a structured methodology for identifying, analyzing, and mitigating risks associated with digital asset payments.
CYBERSECURITY IMPACT
Securing Our Skies
If a military pilot flying faster than the speed of sound receives a message advising them to lower their landing gear, they can be certain something is fishy. Incongruous messages are one of many cyber tactics an adversary could deploy to disrupt a flight.
To keep pace with a rising number of cyber attacks on planes, engineers in our Bedford, Mass.-based Resilient Cyber Aerospace Testbed (RCAT) lab innovate solutions and collaborate with industry to get technologies to military and commercial aircraft quickly.
Exhibit A: A chip called the Hardware Watchdog™ that flags cyber threats in real time, screening data systems for outlying messages that are malformed or malicious (see above).
Our unique position: Because of our role as innovators bridging the military and industry, the process of getting the chip to market took three years as opposed to the typical ten.
Open resource: Military personnel and defense contractors are invited to pressure-test real and potential attack scenarios in the RCAT’s flight simulation environments.
AVIATION IMPACT
Plan B for GPS Disruptions at Airports
GPS interference, whether unintentional or nefarious, can trigger a house of cards effect on airports. Such was the case in 2022 when two events—in Denver and Dallas, respectively—caused massive disruptions to operations. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration, along with the departments of Defense and Homeland Security, asked MITRE to develop emergency response policies and procedures to help airports plan for the future.
Why it matters: Our efforts are part of a multi-part initiative to enhance GPS resiliency as intentional signal jamming becomes more frequent. GPS spoofing—where bad actors transmit an incorrect signal that appears real to the receiver—has also become a reality in some parts of the world, particularly in combat zones.
INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIP
Ensuring Safer Airspace with Pierce Aerospace
Drone use is on the rise, but our ability to identify them from the ground is lagging. Using our National Test Range in Virginia as a backdrop, we’re working with Pierce Aerospace to test their Remote ID sensor technology.
The partnership is “a vital step in transforming airspace management, ensuring public safety for drone operators and hobbyists, and strengthening our ability to respond to evolving threats,” explains MITRE’s Yosry Barsoum, vice president and director of the Center for Securing the Homeland.
Bottom line: Unidentifiable uncrewed aircraft pose a national security concern.
FUTURE OF FLIGHT
High-Speed Flights on the Horizon
Everyone wants to get where they’re going fast—imagine the convenience of flying from New York to Los Angeles in 60 minutes. To help clear the path for high-speed flights, we’re working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Midland International Air and Space Port in Texas to test operations.
The goal: Safely integrate speedy flights into the national airspace.
Setting the stage: Using advanced toolsets, we’ve created high-fidelity models of the airspace which we’ll use to overlay proposed hypersonic flights with existing (and future) air traffic in the region to understand gaps in airspace design.
CUE APPLAUSE
Tech Fellow Recognized for Commitment to Aviation Safety
Tech fellow Chris Hegarty, Ph.D., is so good at his job that the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) created a new award to applaud his accomplishments. Dr. Hegarty was recently honored with the organization’s inaugural President’s Award for his important contributions to standards development and help leading the industry to consensus on complex and critical topics facing aviation.
OUR CULTURE IN ACTION
Happy 250th Birthday, Army!
MITRE and the military share the same unwavering dedication to protecting our nation, so it makes sense that a considerable segment of our workforce are veterans. We proudly celebrate our servicemembers today and every day.