U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) conducted a test on Boeing 757 jets.The test was successful and Remote Hacking was tested into a 757 & parked at the airport in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Sept. 19, 2016.This was officially said Wednesday at 2017.
It was non-cooperative penetration test, said Robert Hickey.This week speaking at the conference, Robert Hickey of the Department of Homeland Security said they accessed the aircraft’s systems through radio frequency communications, based on the RF configuration of most aircraft.
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To patch vulnerability discovered with avionics subsystem on every aircraft is costly.The cost to change one line of code on a piece of avionics equipment is $1 million, and it takes a year to implement, said Robert Hickey.
He also said, newer models of 737s, Boeing’s 787 and the Airbus Group A350, have been designed with security in mind, but 90% of the commercial planes in the sky, don’t have these protections.Hickey was also an airline pilot for more than 20 years.
President Trump’s personal jet is a 757.President often uses 757 for trips.Including in recent trip to Texas.
According to aviationtoday, newer models of 737s and other aircraft, like Boeing’s 787 and the Airbus Group A350, have been designed with security in mind, but that legacy aircraft, which make up more than 90% of the commercial planes in the sky, don’t have these protections.
DHS test was followed by 2015 incident where a passenger told the FBI he had gained control of a plane’s engine by hacking into the airline’s in-flight entertainment system.
Boeing observed the testing and on its results.The company says, “We firmly believe that the test did not identify any cyber vulnerabilities in the 757 or any other Boeing aircraft.”
About this Remote Hacking, An official briefed on the testing does not believe it revealed an “extreme vulnerability” to airliners
Hickey’s team, work includes Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, University of California San Diego, Sierra Nevada, SRI International and QED Secure Solutions.
QED is led by Johnathan Butts, a former Air Force officer who has done cyber vulnerability assessments of Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles and B-52 bombers.
