Is an airplane "hackable?"
Dec 21, 2014, 4:22 pm
#1
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Is an airplane "hackable?"
If I was an evil-doer, say someone like a North-Korean hacker or ISIL/AQ terror guy bent on destruction of the West, I might want to gain control over an aircraft's control system. Is this something that can be done through hacking? Are such systems at all connected to the internet?
Last edited by 747FC; Dec 22, 2014 at 12:38 pm Reason: spellun mistake
Dec 21, 2014, 4:44 pm
#3
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Dec 21, 2014, 5:43 pm
#6
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To this day, I think the Malaysian Airlines flight, that went missing, was stolen. Hacked? Perhaps not, but I think stolen is possible. Now feel free to tell me to stick my tinfoil hat where the sun don't shine 
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Dec 21, 2014, 7:54 pm
#8
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Indeed, basic security. I would also expect to find the IFE system is totally divorced from the avionics package, or the interface is so basic that it's not hackable, so no, you can't plug your iPad into the IFE system and upload a virus. Real life is not a Roland Emmerich movie 
Dec 21, 2014, 9:39 pm
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Dec 21, 2014, 9:42 pm
#10
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Indeed, basic security. I would also expect to find the IFE system is totally divorced from the avionics package, or the interface is so basic that it's not hackable, so no, you can't plug your iPad into the IFE system and upload a virus. Real life is not a Roland Emmerich movie
Dec 21, 2014, 9:51 pm
#11
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True, but it doesn't have to be online for it to happen. Someone (like maintenance) could plug in a rogue USB thumb drive or something that is otherwise infected - see the famous Stuxnet virus, which infiltrated an airgapped (not network connected) Iranian nuclear facility.
Dec 21, 2014, 10:09 pm
#12
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Most of the avionics packages in those airplanes are somewhat old and cannot be directly attached to a thumb drive. Even in the newer glass-panel aircraft, the entire system has to be physically removed. The primary driver for this is security and stability - you really don't want to have something that hasn't been tested and re-tested guiding an airplane on a long (or even short) flight in questionable weather.
Experience: Software Engineer, LSRM, Experimental Aircraft Builder (helped with my own avionics packages)
Experience: Software Engineer, LSRM, Experimental Aircraft Builder (helped with my own avionics packages)
Dec 22, 2014, 7:46 am
#13
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Allow me to play devil's advocate. Aircraft are in communication with the airlines' maintenance facilities, right? Is it two way communication or is the aircraft only capable of sending information, not receiving it?
I too thought aircraft weren't online in the usual sense, but then thought of this...
Aircraft are in communication with the airlines' maintenance facilities, right? Is it two way communication or is the aircraft only capable of sending information, not receiving it?I too thought aircraft weren't online in the usual sense, but then thought of this...
Dec 22, 2014, 10:32 am
#14
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Most of the avionics packages in those airplanes are somewhat old and cannot be directly attached to a thumb drive. Even in the newer glass-panel aircraft, the entire system has to be physically removed. The primary driver for this is security and stability - you really don't want to have something that hasn't been tested and re-tested guiding an airplane on a long (or even short) flight in questionable weather.
Experience: Software Engineer, LSRM, Experimental Aircraft Builder (helped with my own avionics packages)
Experience: Software Engineer, LSRM, Experimental Aircraft Builder (helped with my own avionics packages)
Last edited by GRALISTAIR; Dec 22, 2014 at 1:51 pm Reason: TO MAKE SENSE
Dec 22, 2014, 10:36 am
#15
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It's next to impossible, arguably impossible (but I guess nothing really is). There's someone on the AC FT board who works directly in this line of work. PM Jaysona if you have questions, he might answer as long as you guys don't pile all your questions on him!