tech

Investigators warn aircraft computers could be hacked

6 Comments
By ANNE FLAHERTY

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6 Comments
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But as airlines update their systems with Internet-based networks, it’s not uncommon for Wi-Fi systems to share routers or internal wiring.

Okay, then, let's not have that BEFORE it becomes a disaster rather than keep things quick-n-easy until the worst case scenario comes to pass.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Like telematics in vehicles, 'infotainment systems' and car or flight management systems should be 100% separate and totally independent; firewalls and software are not 100% reliable. It's very simple and easy to achieve.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Jack Bauer, job opportunity here.

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Ehh... these people DO realize that there's still humans at the controls and that only two buttons disconnect all the autopilot functions, right? Even the "Die Hard 2" scenario where the glide slope was hacked has been made obsolete because most large airports have published GPS approaches now that don't use the ILS. Unless these hackers go up in space and mess with a GPS satellite, they can hack all they want and the plane is still landing properly even in zero visibility.

Firewalls are the obvious solution. Every firewall and router in existence today has the capability of allowing only certain MAC addresses to be routed through (but most of us don't use that function because then our ability to connect to the internet becomes disabled). A firewall on an aircraft is going to reject all traffic from reaching the plane's electronics except for the traffic coming from a known MAC address like the ACARS server at the airline's headquarters.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

MAC address filtering does add a degree of security, but due to the fact that MAC addresses can be spoofed, it's only a limited level of security.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Like telematics in vehicles, 'infotainment systems' and car or flight management systems should be 100% separate and totally independent; firewalls and software are not 100% reliable. It's very simple and easy to achieve.

Exactly. That is the first thing that I thought of when reading this article.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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