News / Military

Wi-Fi makes airplanes vulnerable to hackers: Report

Wednesday, 15 April 2015 7:12 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 15 April 2015 7:26 PM ]

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) warned that modern aircraft with internet accessibility are vulnerable to hackers.

A US government watchdog has warned that modern aircraft with internet accessibility could be remotely taken over and brought down by hackers using the plane's passenger Wi-Fi network.

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a new report on Tuesday that identified the danger of several emerging cyber security weaknesses that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must address as the air traffic control.

“Modern aircraft are increasingly connected to the internet. This interconnectedness can potentially provide unauthorized remote access to aircraft avionics systems,” the report said.

"Internet connectivity in the cabin should be considered a direct link between the aircraft and the outside world, which includes potential malicious actors," it added.

According to the report, it is theoretically possible for someone with just a laptop to hijack the aircraft, put a virus into flight control computer or even to take over the warning systems or navigation systems.

"We've had hackers get into the Pentagon, so getting into an airplane computer system I would think is probably quite easy at this point," said pilot John Barton.

According to the report, "Internet connectivity in the cabin should be considered a direct link between the aircraft and the outside world, which includes potential malicious actors."

"A virus or malware planted in websites visited by passengers could provide an opportunity for a malicious attacker to access the IP-connected onboard information system through their infected machines," said the report.

The report was requested by members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, along with senators on the Commerce Committee.

In the wake of the report’s release, US lawmakers called on the FAA to act immediately.

“This report exposed a real and serious threat - cyberattacks on an aircraft in flight… and FAA should work quickly” to fix the problem, said Congressman Peter DeFazio.

He said the FAA "must focus on aircraft certification standards that would prevent a terrorist with a laptop in the cabin or on the ground from taking control of an airplane through the passenger Wi-Fi system. That's a serious vulnerability."

SB/GJH

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