Hacker can control aircraft system with Android Smartphone

A Security Researcher Hugo Teso at Hack In The Box security conference has demonstrated that it is possible for a hacker to take control of aircraft system with an android smartphone.

By hijacking a protocol used to send data to commercial aircraft and exploiting bugs in flight management software, a hacker can send radio signals to planes that would cause them to execute arbitrary commands such as changes in direction, altitude, speed, and the pilots’ displays.

"Teso demonstrated an Android application he built that allowed him to redirect a virtual plane with just a tap on a map application running on his Samsung Galaxy phone." Forbes report reads.

Teso told Forbes that he was able to use the exploit "to modify approximately everything related to the navigation of the plane that includes a lot of nasty things"

Teso notified Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Administration and they are working with the affected aerospace companies to fix the vulnerability.

The presentation can be found here : Aircraft hacking[PDF].

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