Demo hack shows how to crash a plane; air cyber-security being improved

Hacking an aircraft is just an app away and modern aircraft with in-flight connectivity are particularly susceptible, as a demo this week (see below) demonstrated.Separately, the US Federal Aviation Administration is setting up an industry working group on how to improve aircraft cyber-security.Cyber-security vulnerabilities for aircraft operating in the US National Airspace System are not specifically addressed, and the FAA says that as a result vulnerabilities “may not be identified and mitigated, thus increasing exposure times to security threats”.Threats include hackers gaining unauthorised access to aircraft systems and networks which “could result in the malicious use of networks, and loss or corruption of data (eg, software applications, databases, and configuration files) brought about by software worms, viruses, or other malicious entities”.