I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

[Nikita]

on this *&$#@* PLANE!!!!!

"Passengers may be able to hack into the control systems of Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet, according to a report."
Link:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/drea...554534790.html


Ok...commence with the Samuel L Jackson-esque dialog now.....

[Thorn]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

Next year's DC- to-CC "Hacker's on a Plane" may be much more interesting.

[renderman]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

"How the #$%$# did we end up in cuba?"

[xor]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

No doubt Airbus propaganda :). I think they are trying to compensate for their design being pushed back by 2 years because Germany and France were using two different apparently incompatible versions of Dassault Systems design software. Which resulted in a plane that holds 535 people with a main wire harness being 25 feet short. I guess Dassault Systems new slogan should be "See what you mean" 25 feet short. Opps; regardless would you get into plane that holds 535 people? It's a Bin Laden wet dream.

xor

Not a fan of Boeing mind you they use the same software. They just made sure all their vendors had the same version. Man the plane I flew back on from Defcon was an old 727 which I thought was going to fall apart. I heard unhealthy sounds that I thought no aircraft was suppose to make; unless you were in the military.

##article snip###

The vulnerability comes from having the plane's in-flight internet access computer system connected to the plane's flight-safety, control and navigation network. The plane's business and administrative-support network are also connected.

According to a FAA document the design "allows new kinds of passenger connectivity to previously isolated data networks connected to systems that perform functions required for the safe operation of the airplane."

"Because of this new passenger connectivity, the proposed data-network design and integration may result in security vulnerabilities from intentional or unintentional corruption of data and systems critical to the safety and maintenance of the airplane,"the document states.

A more secure design would be to separate the passenger and flight computer networks, wired.com reported. >>>>>> No really, WTFf????? It's a new version of the Microsoft Sync system with a built in flight simulator game. :) You thought Halo 3 was realistic.

##article snip###


I sense a new round of Airport movies coming soon. You would think they would learn something from the railroad industry eg mixing ATC(automatic train control) and propulsion systems. Systems like that should be separate. Next thing you know will be no laptop usage on planes; unless you rent them from the airlines of course.

A cool thing I do to to ease the boredom on long fights is to hold my GPS device in the window and track where you are along the way; because I'm always wondering. It's cool you get altitude, speed, as well as location and can all be plotted on your favorite map software. I know what a geek :).

[xor]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

Sorry but I'm on a bad joke roll here. You know what the media are going to say the first time a "Dreamliner" crashes.

It started out as a Dream but turned into a nightmare.

Bad Dream Liner

Nightmare Liner ..etc

insert variations on this theme.

Doesn't anyone think about this stuff when they sit around in these corporate board rooms?

xor

[renderman]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

Welcome to my world. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should, but doesn't mean you can't

[Deviant Ollam]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

A cool thing I do to to ease the boredom on long fights is to hold my GPS device in the window and track where you are along the way; because I'm always wondering. It's cool you get altitude, speed, as well as location and can all be plotted on your favorite map software. I know what a geek :).

i heard that this can't always be done... namely, some GPS units (maybe this was in the past) automatically go into an error mode or will not function past a certain speed and altitude (a way of preventing their use in cobbled-together weapons systems?) i could certainly be wrong.

[Thorn]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

i heard that this can't always be done... namely, some GPS units (maybe this was in the past) automatically go into an error mode or will not function past a certain speed and altitude (a way of preventing their use in cobbled-together weapons systems?) i could certainly be wrong.

It seems to me that someone we know (Render?) used a GPS on a flight a few years ago. He asked the captain on entering the plane, was given the OK, and said it was amusing to see the ground speed indicator running at over 600 MPH.

It may depend more on the airline policy than anything. There was one I flew recently (Jet Blue?) that had GPS units in the "prohibited devices" list.

[theprez98]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

GPS devices are typically prohibited on most airlines.

I've had trouble getting a lock at a window seat on a an airline flight. I didn't have any trouble in the open cockpit of a military aircraft. ;)

[xor]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

GPS devices are typically prohibited on most airlines.

I've had trouble getting a lock at a window seat on a an airline flight. I didn't have any trouble in the open cockpit of a military aircraft. ;)

I use a battery powered Pharos unit with the BT attachment so it's easy to hold up against the window. Yes, you see the air speed which is about 600 mph 60 or so short of mach 1. Actually mach 1 mite be more or less at higher altitude. It gave me a reliable link for about 75% of the time just enough to take a peek, are we there yet, are we there yet. :) Still very cool.

xor

[theprez98]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

I use a battery powered Pharos unit with the BT attachment so it's easy to hold up against the window. Yes, you see the air speed which is about 600 mph 60 or so short of mach 1. Actually mach 1 mite be more or less at higher altitude. It gave me a reliable link for about 75% of the time just enough to take a peek, are we there yet, are we there yet. :) Still very cool.

xor

Most commercial airlines cruise in the .80 to .85 range.

[renderman]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

Most airlines it's blanket ban on anything more than a gameboy since they seem to think that a GPS transmits rather than recieves.

I've done it on flights and you can get lock depending on the plane model and the exposure your facing in your seat window.

It's usually for my own amusement and really not much different than the seat back map channel they have now but without the annoying ads.

[dataworm]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

Most of the plane I been in recently had In Flight system that would show the current position of the plane on a map, the current speed and the external temperature as well as approximate time left before arrival. With that kind of system you don't really need to use a GPS to know where you are. Actually in India there is Kingfisher Airline that have Live feed of a camera in front of the plane during landing, it's kind of neat...

I supposed with a GPS you could probably give out the coordinate of the plane to a enemy (Terrorist) to shoot down the plane. Not that I think this scenarios is probable but it's a possible scenario. The thing is the Bad guys never follow the rules and they could use a GPS on a plane anyway... I never noticed anyone been warned about using a GPS on a plane and I seen a few of them been used.

To go back on the topic. I think having the In flight entertainment system should be totally isolated from the plane main system. The report mentioned is a US Federal Aviation Administration documents. Why are someone say it's airbus propaganda, Airbus is from France while Boeing is American, why would a US Federal report voluntarily discriminate a American plane.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is that this article is about a plane that have not been shipped yet. Those new In Flight entertainment system got obviously pentested / audited recently and if some report say that this can be done, well this should be took seriously and should be fixed before it get release. This is exactly why you should get your system tested before release, well actually this is exactly why you should involve security teams to take part into the design of the system so that you don't have to fix the system before releasing...

Now you will probably say, ok but how can you hack into those Inflight system... After all it's just a Computer with touchscreen that have USB port. Yup inflight entertainment system are starting to have usb port on them, dunno what they are for yet except charging your [put the name of your gadget here] on the plane but didn't had time to pay with them yet... In flight entertainment system are getting more complex and are starting to have more feature.

Overall I think this article is just sensationalism because the plane isn't released yet and will most likely get fixed before delivery(I hope).

[DaKahuna]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

Most airlines it's blanket ban on anything more than a gameboy since they seem to think that a GPS transmits rather than recieves.

I've done it on flights and you can get lock depending on the plane model and the exposure your facing in your seat window.

Damn - I have aisle seats for my flight to and from the UK the end of the month. I think I'll change my preference to window seats and start taking my USB GPS puck with me. Looks like a square black blob on the end of a cable.

[Lowie]

Re: I'm Sick and Tired of these &*^* Hackers on...

The report mentioned is a US Federal Aviation Administration documents.

The only thing that doesn't make sense is that this article is about a plane that have not been shipped yet.

This report is rather dubious, and I suspect it has been taken well out of context.

As per standard aircraft purchasing arrangements, the in-flight entertainment system is a variable option. You can order the aircraft with no in-flight entertainment, basic mass video entertainment, or full individually controlled video/ audio feeds.

Along with this, you can select systems from various manufacturers such as Rockwell Collins, Panasonic, Honeywell and others.

So, though the article may have been based on an actual FAA report, it was more likely to be a preliminary report on a Boeing design proposal.

But, as IFE gets more complex, obviously possible security exploits become more varied and viable.

BUT... you want to have a play, you'll likely have to be very patient, as these systems crash enough of their own accord without adding passenger experimentation to the mix.

But hey, while you're having a look around you might relieve your boredom by actually fixing the system, it'll save me a lot of headaches and delay reports.