Advisory Warns Of Danger Of Wifi In Aircraft

An advisory from the US government has warned in a new report about the danger of wifi in aircraft that it would be theoretically possible for an attacker to gain unauthorized access to the avionics. The researchers from the US Government Accountability Office (GOA) argue that modern aircraft are increasingly connected to the Internet, what risks entails.

Aircraft Information Systems consist of the avionics for the control and entertainment systems for passengers. Traditionally, the systems for flying and control isolated from the entertainment system. The researchers spoke with the US aviation authority FAA and experts, who reported that IP networks, an attacker can still have access to these systems.

There are some firewalls to protect the avionics against attacks from the entertainment, but four experts suggest that firewalls hacked and can be circumvented. If the entertainment instance the same router as the avionics parts and use the same network platform, a user can bypass the firewall or attacks and gain access to the avionics.

An official of the FAA says that additional security checks can strengthen the system. According to the researchers, however, needs to be taken at different points of action. They advocate the development of a cyber threat model, it must be ensured that the Office of Safety (AVS) of the FAA, which deals with the certification of Internet systems in aircraft, part of a recently established cyber Committee is and must guidelines of the NIST be implemented.