Lesson 1 – Topic 1: Aircraft Hacking

Is it possible to hack an aircraft system? It is a possibility. Some believe there is proof that this happened to MH370 . Anything requiring a download such as an IPAD (Electronic Flight Bag) uses a vehicle to download onto Wi-Fi. Recent confirmation of a bonified event (Hacking attempt) was in the cockpit of a European aircraft through the EFB.

News Article: Hack attack leaves 1,400 airline passengers grounded

This significant issue prompted the need to work with experts to develop a second-tier system that protects aviation specifically.  This is completely different from any Anti- Virus or Malware software furthermore, neither will protect you remotely. Even Drop Box and Google is hacked into routinely. The lack of security begins with downloading the data. Downloading is the entrance point, from there, the hacker has access to all your data.

This focus is on how cyber criminality can affect users who want to access data outside the IT (Information Technology) infrastructure of their organization and what are the best solution to protect those users.

The flight department or the Executive is not safe from being hacked. Whether In flight, at your destination, FBO, or a hotel, the possibility exists that the data could be stolen. The ability for a bad actor or experienced hacker to be able to breech your Information is greater than we know.

Online services, such as Google or Dropbox for example, can be penetrated or the files you upload or download to or from these solutions could be stolen, putting your intellectual property at risk.

If banking institutions, the IRS and even the CIA can be breeched, how can we be safe?

We protect the aircraft through satellite communications – but that does not protect or reduce the cyberspace security risk for the Flight Crew or passengers in the back of the aircraft.