Hacking glass panels?

lancie00

lancie00

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lancie00
I just read an article on General Aviation News about Bendix/King offering upgrade to glass in Cessnas. Here's the link.

One of the comments says "No thx. Experts are finding out that glass panels in small G.A. planes is so easily hacked and taken control over by outsiders or even a 12 yr old that I’ll stay steam with an ipad."

Is this true? I've never heard this before. That would really suck if it's true.
 
Well, any 12 year old with a screwdriver, vice grips, and wire cutter can hack your steam gauges and mechanical systems pretty easily, too.

So, how secure is your iPad?
 
One of the dumber things I've seen lately. Sure, any 12 year old with physical access to the airplane, extensive experience with CAN bus and avionics, etc...

Why are avionics busses in small GA airplanes unsecured? Maybe because they are such a vanishingly small target. There's no way to monetize hacking into airplane instrument panels... it's not like you can repurpose them for sending spam emails or hacking into PBX systems to place robocalls. They're not big enough or dangerous enough to be a significant threat to anyone, so the'd be pretty far down on the terrorist list.

A guy could walk across the ramp sticking Scotch tape over static ports and cause all kinds of trouble, too. And why has that not been a big problem with GA? Oh, yeah -- there's no point to anyone doing it.
 
DaleB said:
One of the dumber things I've seen lately. Sure, any 12 year old with physical access to the airplane, extensive experience with CAN bus and avionics, etc...

Why are avionics busses in small GA airplanes unsecured? Maybe because they are such a vanishingly small target. There's no way to monetize hacking into airplane instrument panels... it's not like you can repurpose them for sending spam emails or hacking into PBX systems to place robocalls. They're not big enough or dangerous enough to be a significant threat to anyone, so the'd be pretty far down on the terrorist list.

A guy could walk across the ramp sticking Scotch tape over static ports and cause all kinds of trouble, too. And why has that not been a big problem with GA? Oh, yeah -- there's no point to anyone doing it.
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So you're saying that they need physical access to the plane to hack it? If that's the case, I'm not so worried about it. If they did have physical access to it what can they do?
 
An encrypted CAN bus on a typical GA piston single is like a Toyota Corolla with triple armored ignition interlock and rims made of solid 24kt gold fastened by stock lugnuts.
 
jsstevens said:
Slow news day...
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No joke.

Hey... your water heater is vulnerable to hacking. Any 12 year old or terrorist (and yes, I realize there's a lot of overlap in those two groups) could break into your house, turn the water temp down and you'd get a cold shower. How worried about that are you?
 
the term "hack" is so sensationalized... the average idiot pictures some dude in the basement of a building with a hundred computer monitors around him like something out of the matrix typing eagerly away at an MS DOS terminal, with the stereotypical digital key punching sounds with every keyboard click

When really, most "hacking" is just guessing a password or social engineering someone to give up or reveal their info

Living in an apartment / condo complex it amazes me how many people have open unsecured WiFi signals
 
I assumed this was a sky falling thing but hadn't heard of it yet. Thanks
 
I can cut your brake lines and catch the fluid without even boarding your airplane.

It’s a stupid fearmongering article. If you’re worried about your airplane being hacked and you have to wonder who wants you dead, you have bigger problems.
 
Lets remember the range of a Bluetooth signal about 30' and Wifi is 250". Assuming clear line of sight and no obstructions.

Aluminum aircraft hulls cut the range significantly.

For the 2-3 seconds a plane is slow on short final (in range to hack), a person has to hack the BT/Wifi ID, establish connection, and then get to work. Oh, the plane landed a 1000' away.

Brought to you by the people who caused a rush on plastic drop cloth and duck tape after 911 to guard against theoretical gas attack.
 
NordicDave said:
Lets remember the range of a Bluetooth signal about 30' and Wifi is 250". Assuming clear line of sight and no obstructions.

Aluminum aircraft hulls cut the range significantly.

For the 2-3 seconds a plane is slow on short final (in range to hack), a person has to hack the BT/Wifi ID, establish connection, and then get to work. Oh, the plane landed a 1000' away.

Brought to you by the people who caused a rush on plastic drop cloth and duck tape after 911 to guard against theoretical gas attack.
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This also assumes the devices are BT/WiFi enabled.
 
murphey said:
Wrong....it stirs up the unwashed masses and promotes more paranoia about GA.
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When IF there was a hacking target worth attacking, it wouldn’t be GA... it’s Part 121 aircraft...

Who needs avionics hacking? One hovering drone has closed a major airliner airport in the UK for days this year... sigh.
 
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