Government Official: Roberts Plane Hacks Didn’t Happen
US government investigators investigating the claims of security researcher Chris Roberts have found no evidence that he actually hacked into aircraft systems. That explains an anonymous government official to American media.
Security researcher Chris Roberts told an FBI agent early this year that he had found vulnerabilities in the in-flight entertainment systems of several airliners. He is said to have breached the security of the systems fifteen to twenty times by forcing the seat electronic box, which is located under the passenger seat, and connecting his laptop to the system. Roberts claimed that he then managed to hack into the ife system, after which he allegedly gained access to the engines of a device. That way he claimed to be able to fly the plane. Roberts would also have been able to keep up with the data flows in the cockpit.
The FBI warned Roberts at the time that he could face prosecution if he tried to enter aircraft systems again. Roberts promised not to make any more hacking attempts. On April 15, he sent a tweet from a United device in which he referred to the hacking of the ife system. Afterwards, an FBI agent saw that the seat electronic box under Roberts’ seat appeared to have been tampered with. The FBI then seized his electronics and launched an investigation into Roberts’ claims.
Roberts told Wired on Friday that he has not taken over control of the devices. However, he stated that he had penetrated networks in the aircraft and that he had seen data streams from the cockpit. According to the hacker, the FBI has taken the statements he allegedly made out of context.
A senior government official told various American media on Monday that investigators now consider it unlikely that Roberts’ hacks actually took place. “There is no reliable information to show that the flight systems can be manipulated from within the ife system,” the anonymous government official told USA Today.
Boeing and Airbus also say they doubt Roberts’ claims. To Bloomberg, Boeing states that critical systems are isolated from the ife system; in addition, pilots can override the systems from the cockpit. However, according to an April report by the US Government Accounting Office, the systems in an aircraft are increasingly not physically separated from each other. Instead, the separation occurs through a software firewall. In theory it can be hacked.