In Flight Entertainment System Security

Contrary to alarmist stories in the press, it really isn’t practically possible to hack an airplane from the in-flight entertainment system IFE/IFEC. The ‘C’ adds Connectivity, so internet access Whilst earlier moving map systems did take a feed from the flight management system, particularly so...

A Pen Tester’s First Solo: Aviation Security 101

My colleague Ken and I are both private pilots with a keen interest in avionics and security. We were fortunate to have access to some end of life, functioning airframes so had the opportunity to start investigating the security of airplane and avionics. Here’s a primer for anyone interested in...

DHS Warning: Small Aircraft are Ripe for Hacking

The Department of Homeland Security issued an alert Tuesday warning that small aircraft are vulnerable to hackers that can gain physical access to a plane. It warned that a hacker can easily manipulate aircraft telemetry data, which can result in loss of control of the airplane. The bulletin was...

Researcher Demonstrates Commercial Airplane Navigation System Compromise

As if hurtling through the air at 500 miles per hour in an enormous meshing of metal and wires wasn’t terrifying enough, security researcher Hugo Teso presented a practical demonstration of a remote airline attack in which he took complete control of a virtual aircraft’s flight management system...