Potential hack for some Boeing planes fixed -researchers

By James Pearson

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – A digital vulnerability within the pc programs used on some Boeing Co plane that might have allowed malicious hackers to switch information and trigger pilots to make harmful miscalculations has been fastened, safety researchers mentioned on Friday.

   Older variations of a digital device used to calculate touchdown and take-off speeds on some plane might be tampered with by hackers with direct entry to an “Digital Flight Bag,” or EFB, a pill machine utilized by pilots to plan flights, cybersecurity agency Pen Take a look at Companions mentioned in a report.

   “If information modification happens, and the ensuing miscalculations usually are not detected in the course of the crew’s required cross examine or verification course of, an plane might land on a runway too brief, or take off at incorrect speeds doubtlessly leading to a tail strike or runway tour,” mentioned the report, which was introduced on the DEF CON hacker conference in Las Vegas on Friday.

   In a press release, Boeing mentioned it was not conscious of any airplane that had been affected by the difficulty, however had launched a software program replace to handle it.

   “The probability of this impacting flight security is extremely low,” Alex Lomas, a safety advisor at Pen Take a look at Companions, mentioned throughout Friday’s presentation. “Pilots are educated to deal with uncommon conditions.”

(Reporting by James Pearson; Enhancing by Leslie Adler)