Shortly after the tragedy of MH370, many started questioning the ability of cyberhackers to hack aircraft systems. Now, it's inevitable that these cyber criminals will be able to hack passenger jets that take us around the world. Reports by the EASA have shown a hacker, also a pilot was able to hack a plane's systems in just under 5 minutes. Another example, in the US, was of a cyberhacker named Chris Roberts who tweeted about hacking the plane he was flying on. He later told authorities he had taken over control of the engines of 20 previous flights he was on. 20! In addition, he claimed he was also able to issue a climb command, enabling the aircraft to increase its altitude, potentially dangerous if the capability was in the wrong hands. Thankfully, we have a safety-net, air traffic controllers who look out for planes at possible collision altitudes and the inbuilt flight computers. However, if someone can hack these flight computers as well to give a false reading, airtraffic controllers and the plane will be left in the dark, causing a catastrophic collision.
So the question is, is flying safe?
The answer is yes, for now. As of now, there are not many that can access the really important flight information systems of an aircraft. Carl Herberger, vice-president of IT security firm Radware and a former US air force cyberwarfare specialist, stated, "The question isn’t really if, but when. “The second question is what do we do about this thereafter.”
So yes, this will be a problem in the future, but right now flying is safer than driving a car.
So the question is, is flying safe?
The answer is yes, for now. As of now, there are not many that can access the really important flight information systems of an aircraft. Carl Herberger, vice-president of IT security firm Radware and a former US air force cyberwarfare specialist, stated, "The question isn’t really if, but when. “The second question is what do we do about this thereafter.”
So yes, this will be a problem in the future, but right now flying is safer than driving a car.