[BenLurkin]

Question: Is this different from a automobile with Wi-Fi?

[thorvaldr]

Okay, you know how you’re on a airplane and the flight attendant asks you to turn your cell phone off? And you’re like, “I ain’t turning my cell phone off. That ain’t have nothing to do with no damn airplane.” Well, this is what we get. That’s what happens. It gets up there, bounces around on the satellite, then blam! Just turn your damn cell phone off. Now you’re gonna drive off a cliff tonight ‘cause your GPS don’t work. — Agent J

[oh8eleven]

"That's a serious vulnerability, and FAA should work quickly" to fix the problem, DeFazio said.
WTH didn't they fix it before making it public?

[Blood of Tyrants]

Simple solution. Have physically separate routers for WiFi and controls. You can’t hack what you have no access to.

[Star Traveler]

Remember Battlestar Galactica ... :-) ...

[Flick Lives]

The avionics in a cockpit operate as a self-contained unit and aren't connected to the same system used by passengers to watch movies or work on their laptops. But as airlines update their systems with Internet-based networks, it's not uncommon for Wi-Fi systems to share routers or internal wiring.

If this is a physically separate system, and it should be, there is no issue. If an aircraft has a LAN for flight control, you're not going to burden it with the traffic from the in-flight movie channels. It's just more of the usual media "what shall we panic the people with today".

[sagar]

Why would they “update” avionic software IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FLIGHT? Idiots.

[NormsRevenge]

Is all software hackable? Are future and current rolling autos
Vulnerable?

Did the BatMobile come with Remote Control?

Stay Tuned Bat Kids!

[Advil000]

We should not have WiFi systems that communicate with the computers that control the aircraft. Period. There is no such thing as “enough security” for that. Anything running on software can be hacked/compromised.

There has to be a physical moat. No form of wireless data connection should exist to the flight computers PERIOD. PERIOD!!! If you need to input flight info, you should have to do it on another computer, whether that instrument is in the panel or hand held and that should have to be manually uploaded to the system by a human.

What I’m describing doesn’t have to be what you think. It can be as simple as a dedicated computer with wifi in the panel that only makes physical connection to the aircraft flight computer when you push a button or turn a knob to upload.

That way, NOTHING known to man can compromise the flight computer info during flight unless you are in the cockpit.

It’s common sense.

The very thought that ANY data systems in an aircraft are in any way connected to the passengers or outside the aircraft is unfathomable.

[SgtHooper]

I say “prove it!”

[Organic Panic]

As a recovering aircraft engineer don’t worry about it. It is another politician creating panic to get more power and funnel work to a connected company.