Speaking at a conference, the manufacturers claimed that such a hack would not be possible on an in-service airliner carrying passengers, as the environment on such flights would be far less controlled and subject to a much greater number of variables. The hack was only effective while the airliner was on autopilot.īoeing, Airbus and the FAA poured cold water on Teso’s claims by pointing out that his alleged capabilities had been demonstrated under carefully-controlled laboratory conditions. Once he had control of the FMS, Teso was able to control the airliner’s course, speed, altitude and other internal systems. ACARS interacts with an airliner’s flight management system (FMS), and Teso used phony ACARS messages to gain access to and control of the simulated airliner’s FMS. Teso gained access to the airliner’s computer system through ACARS, which airlines use to send and receive information between ground stations and airliners regarding the airliner’s flight phase, flight path, maintenance status and other information. German cybersecurity consultant and certified pilot Hugh Teso demonstrated his hacking methods on simulated airplanes in a laboratory environment at the April 2013 Hack in the Box cybersecurity conference in Amsterdam. The airline industry has cast doubts on both claims, and neither method has been clearly proven to work on an operational airliner. Roberts claims to have manipulated an in-service airliner’s controls by hacking in through the IFE system, while Teso has presented methods that he claims would allow him to take control of an aircraft through its ACARS system. The two most prominent individuals to claim that they found ways to take control of airliners by computer hacking are cybersecurity consultants Chris Roberts and Hugh Teso. The primary concern of cybersecurity experts is that hackers could use the networks with exposure to the outside world to penetrate more sensitive networks, such as those that control the airliner’s flight controls. Modern airliners contain a vast array of interconnected computer networks, some of which are open to the outside world. While the inherent vulnerabilities in airliner network designs mean that aircraft manufacturers’ cybersecurity experts will be in a perpetual arms race against hackers, the manufacturers are currently winning the race and are likely to maintain their lead for at least the near future.Ĭybersecurity experts say that hacking into modern airliners’ sensitive computer control systems is theoretically possible, even if nobody has yet demonstrated such a capability. ![]() Airliner flight control systems and the cybersecurity measures that protect them tend to be unique, highly complex, closed-source and proprietary, making them very difficult for outsiders to understand, let alone penetrate. The complexity of modern airliners and their computer networks means that any attacker seeking to hijack an airliner through computer hacking would need detailed knowledge of airliner operations and network designs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |