In-flight Wireless Systems Vulnerable, Security Research Says

hackers and airplanesA cybersecurity researcher with firm IOActive says he has figured out how to hack the satellite communications equipment on passenger jets through their Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment systems.

Source: Source: Dow Jones - Clint Boulton | Published on August 8, 2014

Cybersecurity researcher Ruben Santamarta is scheduled to present the technical details of his research Thursday at this week's Black Hat hacking conference in Las Vegas, according to Reuters.

Since its inception in 1997, Black Hat has been the staging ground where hackers and cybersecurity experts convene to discuss their research, including emerging cyberthreats. In previous years at Black Hat, researchers have demonstrated how to hack anything from ATM systems, to insulin pumps and pacemakers.

Mr. Santamarta will show how a hacker can use a plane's in-flight Wi-Fi and entertainment system to hack into its avionics equipment, potentially disrupting satellite communications, which could interfere with the aircraft's navigation and safety systems. "These devices are wide open," Mr. Santamarta, who stumbled upon the vulnerabilities by "reverse engineering" firmware used in communications equipment, told Reuters. "The goal of this talk is to help change that situation."

Airlines may take some comfort in the fact that Mr. Santamarta said that his hacks have only been tested in controlled environments, and they might be difficult to replicate in the real world.

Black Hat is also prone to cancellations, and thus far there have been three for this year's event.

Security researchers this week pulled two scheduled talks -- one on breaking into home-alarm systems and the other on a sophisticated Russian espionage campaign known as "Snake." The withdrawals follow the cancellation last month of a talk on how to identify users of Tor, the Internet privacy service.