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11 Jan 2008
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded Boeing's new 787 airliner after concerns about the integrity of its computer systems.
The FAA said last week that it was unhappy with the possibility of passengers being able to hack into the aircraft's flight systems using the data links built into each seat.
"The proposed architecture of the 787 allows passenger connectivity to previously isolated data networks connected to systems that perform functions required to the safe operation of the airplane," the FAA report stated.
"This new passenger connectivity may result in security vulnerabilities from intentional corruption of data and systems critical to the safety of the airplane."
Boeing has said that it is working with the FAA to resolve the problem and that it had already built a firewall between the systems. The manufacturer claims that the systems would be 100 per cent secure.
However, Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at security firm BT Counterpane, said that the likelihood of the system being perfect is "zero" .
"It is possible that Boeing can make the connection to the internet secure. If it does, it will be the first time that anyone has done so," he told Associated Press.
The Air Line Pilots Association has also expressed concern about the systems and has suggested that pilots should have a "kill switch" to shut down passenger data networks.
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Do you agree?
Wow, that's a lot of comment
First off thanks for all the comments, good to see this sparked interest. Secondly, mea culpa, in the original copy I did get Authority confused with Administration in FAA. On the point of whether the aircraft is grounded if is still in testing is an interesting one. My understanding from the report is that the aircraft will not be allowed to fly until the problem is fixed. That, to me at least, sounds like a grounding. Thanks again for the feedback, which is always welcome - except the really abusive stuff which we had to cut on taste grounds.
Posted by: Iain Thomson 16 Jan 2008
Grounded?
In fact the FAA has merely raised this reasonable concern about hackers being able to access flight control systems. The 787 has not taken first flight for other sundry reasons that Boeing has already outlined and your article title misleads by implying that the Dreamliner is being kept on the ground because of its vulnerability to hackers. This of course is not the case.
Posted by: R. Price 13 Jan 2008
FAA?
I believe it's Federal Aviation Administration! Passengers hacking is not a really threat. If it was that easy I don't think Boeing will using this technology.
Posted by: kn 12 Jan 2008
It's not grounded!!!
Do you really think Boeing is going to hold up certification testing over this? This issue may delay the aircraft's final certification, but thus far, the Federal Aviation Administration has not told Boeing that N787BA, the prototype aircraft, cannot fly on schedule. Yes, there will probably be a design change over this issue, but for now, the prototype is safe to fly, seeing how the only passengers will be Boeing test engineers on the certification tests.
Posted by: Brent Boswell 11 Jan 2008
The 787 has not been "grounded"
The FAA has not grounded the 787! The FAA has expressed its concern over the possibility of the system being hacked. This is something Boeing must address before the plane can be certified. Saying the plane has been "grounded" is false, misleading, absurdly sensationalistic, and wrong.
Posted by: GCV 11 Jan 2008