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Internet on Boeing 787: What if hackers get in?
Fri, Jan 11, 2008 The Straits Times
SEATTLE - BEFORE Boeing's new 787 jetliner gets the green light to fly passengers, the aircraft maker will have to prove that offering Internet access in the cabin won't leave the flight controls vulnerable to hackers and hijackers. Boeing claims it has engineered safeguards to shut out unauthorised users aboard its Dreamliner, but some security analysts worry that navigation and communications systems could be vulnerable. 'The odds of this being perfect are zero,' said Mr Bruce Schneier, the chief technology officer at the security services firm BT Counterpane. 'It's possible Boeing can make their connection to the Internet secure. If they do, it will be the first time in mankind anyone has done that.'

Boeing has designed the aircraft to allow airlines to offer passengers more in-flight entertainment and Internet options than previous planes have allowed.

Those new features and other aspects of the Dreamliner's computer network go beyond the scope of existing regulations, so the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is requiring Boeing to show that the new technology will not pose a safety threat.

'Because of this new passenger connectivity, the proposed data network design and integration may result in security vulnerabilities,' it said in its communication with Boeing.

An FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the agency has been working closely with Boeing and is pleased so far.

'We are always in constant communication and are satisfied with what they have provided.'

Boeing is set to deliver the first 787 by November.

Its rival, Airbus, argues that the only way to satisfy the new requirement would be to physically separate the passenger information and entertainment systems from all other systems on the plane.

Airbus told the FAA in a written comment that such a solution 'is not technically and operationally viable'.

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