US Government Probes Airplane Vulnerabilities, Says Airline Hack Is ‘Only a Matter of Time’

guest · Jun 6, 2018

US Government Probes Airplane Vulnerabilities, Says Airline Hack Is ‘Only a Matter of Time’
June 6, 2018
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/d3kwzx/documents-us-government-hacking-planes-dhs

According to DHS and other US government documents obtained by Motherboard, the DHS is continuing to investigate how insecure commercial aircraft are to cyber attacks, with one research lab saying hacking a plane may lead to a "catastrophic disaster."

The documents, which include internal presentations and risk assessments, indicate researchers working on behalf of the DHS may have already conducted another test against an aircraft. They also show what the US government anticipates would happen after an aircraft hack, and how planes still in use have little or no cybersecurity protections in place.

“Potential of catastrophic disaster is inherently greater in an airborne vehicle,” a section of a presentation dated this year from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), a Department of Energy government research laboratory, reads.

“Today’s commercial aviation backbone is built upon a network of trust; most commercial aircraft currently in use have little to no cyber protections in place,” a 2016 DHS presentation says. Boeing estimates a 20 year plus service life for its current aircraft which means “15-20 years of higher cyber vulnerability,” the DHS document adds.
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Krusty · Aug 9, 2018

Hacking airliners: Cybersecurity expert says he found a satellite ‘back door’ into aircraft

MH370 investigators dismissed the prospect as ‘impossible’. But now a cybersecurity researcher says he’s been able to hack his way into overflying aircraft hundreds of times.

IT sounds incredible: the ability to tap into a commercial airliner’s on-board systems as it flies thousands of meters over head. But a cyber expert is telling a security conference he’s managed to do just that — hundreds of times.

The Black Hat cybersecurity conference currently being held in Las Vegas brings together a variety of experts to discuss the risks, pitfalls — and locations — of flaws in computer networks.

Ruben Santamara of IOActive, reports Forbes, has found a doozy.

He’s found a weakness in the satellite communications network which provides aircraft with a wide variety of services — from passenger Wi-Fi through to weather forecasts.

He says that, had he been inclined, he could peek into every connected phone, tablet or laptop on planes streaming overhead. And he did this by tapping into the antennas beaming data direct at each aircraft.

While commercial airliner on-board systems remained out of his direct reach, Santamara warns the access he gained gave him the hypothetical power to damage specific parts of an aircraft as satellite communications technology allowed the transfer of energy via radio frequencies.

This could potentially cause burns or damage sensitive equipment, he said.
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itman · Aug 11, 2018

Researcher Finds Hundreds of Planes Exposed to Remote Attacks

A researcher has discovered that hundreds of airplanes from several airlines could have been hacked remotely from the ground through vulnerabilities in satellite communications systems.

Back in 2014, IOActive Principal Security Consultant Ruben Santamarta published a research paper describing theoretical attack scenarios on satellite communications. The expert resumed his research in November 2017, after taking a look at the in-flight entertainment system during a Norwegian flight.
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https://www.securityweek.com/researcher-finds-hundreds-planes-exposed-remote-attacks

guest · May 6, 2019

Hacker Claims MH370 Could Be Compromised by Computer ‘Nerd’
May 6, 2019
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201905061074751656-mh370-hacker-investigation/

Cybersecurity professional Chris Roberts has told the Daily Star the MH370’s aircraft could have been easily hacked from Earth. According to him, a person could have compromised it via four routes, namely the “plane itself, the controls, the electronics, and the entertainment systems”.

Roberts revealed that the technical info needed to hack the jet could be easily searched online, including airframe manufacturing logs.

"When something goes wrong the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) puts out some amazing reports. They contain all sorts of technical detail that you’ll use for analysis and an understanding of how, what and where the attack surfaces are”, the hacker explained.
Moreover, in his opinion, one does not have to be a very experienced hacker to tamper with a jet’s computers, to enter the entertainment system, and then access the SATCOM (satellite communication), the Server Interface Unit, and the Cabin Wireless LAN Unit (CWLU).
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guest · Aug 22, 2019

Can airplanes get hacked?
August 21, 2019
https://www.pandasecurity.com/mediacenter/mobile-news/can-airplanes-get-hacked/

A few weeks ago, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a concerning security alert about the hobbyist aviation industry.
The alert is a signal to the plane manufacturers and encourages them to consider adopting more ways to prevent airplane hacking.

Tampering with airplane systems is not unheard of, and this is not the first aviation cyber vulnerability alert issued by DHS either. In 2015, FBI was left puzzled after a computer expert claimed that he hacked a plane’s in-flight entertainment system and made the airplane briefly fly sideways.
With the constant advancement of technology, aviation cybersecurity will continue to be an issue of growing concern as the answer is yes – airplanes can get hacked. Luckily hackers need physical access to the aircraft so they can attach the device and airports are notorious for their security.

However, the alert distributed by government officials is yet another strong reminder that no modern technology is fully protected by hackers.
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guest · Sep 29, 2019

Boeing : U.S. Government Steps Up Scrutiny of Airplane Cybersecurity
September 29, 2019
https://www.marketscreener.com/BOEI...-Scrutiny-of-Airplane-Cybersecurity-29274948/

Persistent concerns that planes could be targeted in cyberattacks are prompting U.S. officials to re-energize efforts to identify airliners' vulnerability to hacking.

The revived program, led by the Department of Homeland Security and involving the Pentagon and Transportation Department, aims to identify cybersecurity risks in aviation and, more broadly, improve U.S. cyber resilience in a critical area of public infrastructure, a DHS official said. DHS is offering few details on the program but says it will involve some limited testing of actual aircraft.
The new U.S. program is trying to ensure that hackers can't exploit potential vulnerabilities in electronic systems of both new and old model airliners. The scrutiny comes in the wake of cyberattacks that, in recent years, have attempted to disrupt such critical internet-connected sectors as energy grids and electoral systems.

Boeing said it supports the reconstituted cybersecurity initiative and may participate at next year's Defcon conference. "We need to bridge the gap between the hacking community and the industry," a Boeing official said.
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