"787 May Be Vulnerable to Hacker Attack" says FAA

[Night-Hawk]

"Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet may have a serious security vulnerability in its onboard computer networks that could allow passengers to access the plane's control systems, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals. "

More... http://www.wired.com/politics/security/ ... r_security

I wonder if it's running Windows Vista

[grimey]

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.

Am I the only one wondering why the hell Boeing would do that?

[sky's the limit]

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.

Am I the only one wondering why the hell Boeing would do that?

Why do the Americans do pretty much anything they do???

stl

[Invertago]

Can you log PIC from the back of the plane?

[MZUNGO]

quick duck and cover.

another case of fear mongering. a society is easier to control if it is scared

[Scuba_Steve]

I hear some of their systems are going to be wireless too, ie wireless networks etc for certain (non critical) controls to cut down on all the wiring weight and costs...I thought tha was really interesting

[xsbank]

So some doorknob in the back with a laptop and Flight Sim can log on and do a few rolls while enroute, for a laugh.

[wxnut]

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.

Am I the only one wondering why the hell Boeing would do that?

Why do the Americans do pretty much anything they do???

stl

Agreed.

[THEICEMAN]

Wow...that's not good! Can anybody say, another 6 month delay????

[Doc]

So, along with the 8 oz can of shave cream, the nail clippers, the bottle of really dangerous looking water, we're not allowed to take our joysticks in carry on?

[ScudRunner]

How long before that things systems get overloaded with porn spyware. I have to give this thing a shot of penicillen every week!

[cgzro]

The computer network in the Dreamliner's passenger compartment, designed to give passengers in-flight internet access, is connected to the plane's control, navigation and communication systems, an FAA report reveals.

Am I the only one wondering why the hell Boeing would do that?

Weight I suppose and redundency. You put in full blown network in the plane with dozens of different ways that data can get from any one place to any other in the plane. They probably are using a high speed data network over optical fibers that run a myriad of different routes through the plane. Data can get from a controller to the device being controlled by numerous different routes when things go wrong. Properly designed and implemented it would result in an extremely robust system that would only stop working when there were no more routes for the control data to reach the things being controlled. Also no cross talk problems, just good clean digital signals for sensors etc.

Now there are lots of ways you can isolate these logical networks depending on your definition of 'touch'.

You can use a bundle of fibers and use only some of the fibers for crytical systems.
You can use different wavelenghts of light on the fibers for different systems.
You can use different time-slots on the wavelengths on the fibers for different systems.

or you can assign different 'codes' to the data that flows such that control coded data gets priority.

Properly designed all of the above systems work and while technically the networks 'touch' they are isolated. These are referred to as VPNs (Virtual Private Networkis) in the networking world and are commonly used to isolate banks/stock trading/hospital or other critical data from a larger physical network without having a physically separate network.

The advantage of the last approach is that you won't end up with your control not working as the plane goes down but the video games are all up and running. The system would literally take-over the less important traffic on the network to get its control through.

These are all common approaches to sharing a network for various types of traffic and have been around and working for many years. ... however in the context of a plane, you have to wonder if its worth the weight savings to take those kinds of risks, even if the risks can be minimized by good engineering.

I sure hope whatever they do that they have a few good old fashioned cables to tip spoilers etc. so that some degree of control is always available even without power.

Peter

[MUSKEG]

Come on people, you really think Boeing hasn't thought of that when they designed it. Don't be like sheep and just follow along. Think for yourselves.

[V1RotateV2]

Don't be like sheep and just follow along. Think for yourselves.

Now you blew it!
Having such an un-American attitude will get you tracked by the FBI, NSA, CIA and IRS. Just apologize and go back to watching Fox news and sports.

What would they do if they weren't scared?

[xsbank]

You guys have it all wrong anyway, it operates on OS 10.5 - its a Mac so nothing can go wrong! There, there, you can all go sit down and have another coffee.

[Flybaby]

[co-joe]

Boeing will have to hire a bunch of 12 year olds with laptops to beta test their new airplane.

AKA seneca grads...

[CID]

Uniformed alarmist bullshit.

[Justwannafly]

LMAO

[Night-Hawk]

Uniformed alarmist bullshit.

I thought it was funny.

[xsbank]

I find it really interesting that they quote PPrune in this article. Better clean up your language, lads!


"How a backseat driver could bring terror to new Dreamliner

Alexi Mostrous
In-flight entertainment has come a long way since passengers craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the flickering films shown in 1980s aircraft. Today’s passengers expect on-demand video systems, telephones and even broadband internet access.

Unfortunately, that’s not all they can do. The technology used by the new generation of aircraft is now so advanced that aviation officials fear that terrorists could use it to fly the plane.

Aviation regulators have refused to certify Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet until it redesigns its computer system to protect against such an event, The Times has learnt.

The Federal Aviation Authority is concerned that terrorists could use the Dreamliner’s in-flight internet system to connect to “systems critical to the safety and maintenance of the aircraft”.

In a report released last week, the FAA said that Boeing had left the pilots’ computers open to attack by connecting the Dreamliner’s entertainment system to the pilots’ controls.

A hacker with a computer and some IT training potentially could hijack the system from his seat.

“The proposed architecture of the 787 allows new kinds of passenger connectivity to previously isolated data networks connected to systems that perform functions required to the safe operation of the airplane,” the FAA report says.

“This new passenger connectivity may result in security vulnerabilities from intentional corruption of data and systems critical to the safety of the airplane.”

Boeing now has to fulfil special conditions before the Dreamliner is certified safe. The 787’s maiden flight is scheduled for March with deliveries supposed to begin in November.

David Learmount, safety editor of Flight International, said: “The FAA is obviously very concerned about this. It’s not the kind of organisation that fires shots across the bows if it doesn’t think it was needed.

“It’s not good enough to have systems which can be hacked into and then disabled by the pilot. The hacker might have put a bug into the system which screws up the navigation. The FAA don’t want a system like that.

“They’re saying: don’t bring us an aircraft someone can hack into.”

On the message boards of the Professional Pilots Rumour Network website, pilots also expressed their concern. One wrote: “The possibility of a wired connection between passenger internet services and flight systems is really scary! No sane person would implement this.”

The Dreamliner is the most successful new commercial airplane in Boeing’s history. It is Boeing’s response to the Airbus A380 super-jumbo and is crucial to the company’s success.

Lori Gunter, a Boeing spokeswoman, said that Boeing had designed a system to counter the threat but admitted that it had not yet been tested.

Ms Gunter said that data could pass between the passenger and flight networks, but said there were “protections in place to ensure that the passenger internet service doesn’t access the maintenance data or the navigation system under any circumstances”."

[AntiNakedMan]

Uniformed alarmist bullshit.

So.... that means we're all wearing the same clothes?