Most likely it isn't the control systems they took control of. Probably the GPS. Todays jets are pretty simple. You learned to do all of it manually but in reality most pilots today just take off and land and that is about it. Rest of it is all automatic by tuning in alt/speed and nav points. In fact most of it is just preparing the nav, frequencies and approach plates. So if they can get into the gps system then they could push new coords in.
There are some wireless comms as well that can pull and push information to engines and other systems. How that gets distributed inside the plane is probably all switched and vlan'ed as Josh said. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck McCown" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 10:42:30 AM Subject: Re: [AFMUG] I'll be looking at the guy across the aisle with the open laptop a little more closely on my next flight But when the FMS sends a command to an aileron, I will be gobsmacked to discover that commend involved ethernet in any way. There is triple redundancy on the fly by wire systems. However, if there is some kind of ethernet port on the FMS that could be used to take over FMS in some kind of diagnostic mode, I could believe that might be able to be used. I am thinking this hacker is wanting 15 minutes of fame. He may get 15 years of s**t storm instead. From: Josh Luthman Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 8:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] I'll be looking at the guy across the aisle with the open laptop a little more closely on my next flight IIRC on Boeing the info network and flight control stuff is separated by nothing more than a VLAN. Josh Luthman Office: 937-552-2340 Direct: 937-552-2343 1100 Wayne St Suite 1337 Troy, OH 45373 On Mon, May 18, 2015 at 10:37 AM, Chuck McCown <[email protected]> wrote: I am going to totally dis-believe that anyone can issue flight control commands over an ethernet network accessible by an under the passenger seat box of electronics. First, I doubt that critical flight hardware speaks garden variety ethernet. Second, I have to believe there is an air gap between infotainment and critical networks. But I didn't believe Lance Armstrong could have ever been guilty of doping either. -----Original Message----- From: WaveDirect Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 8:26 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [AFMUG] I'll be looking at the guy across the aisle with the open laptop a little more closely on my next flight Yeah ... makes me wonder what the hell they were thinking by allowing the wifi network be on the same network as the flight controls. This is a possible Cylon situation. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Rory Conaway" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, May 16, 2015 5:21:38 PM Subject: [AFMUG] I'll be looking at the guy across the aisle with the open laptop a little more closely on my next flight http://www.wired.com/2015/05/feds-say-banned-researcher-commandeered-plane/ Rory Conaway * Triad Wireless * CEO 4226 S. 37th Street * Phoenix * AZ 85040 602-426-0542 [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]> www.triadwireless.net<http://www.triadwireless.net/> "That which can be destroyed by the truth, should be." - P.C. Hodgell
