By Kris Van Cleave CBS News June 12, 2018, 6:45 PM
DHS experts warn it's a "matter of time" before hackers hit commercial airliners
WASHINGTON -- Cybersecurity experts working for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a sobering warning about the vulnerability of commercial airliners to hackers. The same group of experts hacked a Boeing 757, and now CBS News is learning more about the government's ongoing efforts to learn about the vulnerabilities.
In a presentation in January, researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory warned it is "a matter of time before a cybersecurity breach on an airline occurs," according to 119 pages of heavily redacted documents provided by DHS to CBS News. That assessment came after a DHS decision to launch "nose to tail" tests of a Boeing 757 for hacking weak spots.
The documents, which were first reported by the website Motherboard, show DHS planned to begin developing mitigation efforts to protect against cyberattacks in 2017.
Those tests came after a DHS team led by Dr. Robert Hickey took just two days to hack remotely into the plane while it was parked at a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) facility at the Atlantic City Airport in September of 2016.
The DHS team gained access through the plane's radio frequency communications using "typical stuff" that could be brought through airport security. In response, DHS officials scheduled further hacking attempts on the plane, including efforts to access flight management, life support, autopilot, the plane's electrical and fuel systems as well as its engines.
"I think we've come to realize that cyberthreat is everywhere," said Ron Hosko, former assistant director of the FBI. "My fear is that our nation acts most directly when they're on the backside of a crisis. The crisis has occurred we lose a lot of lives and now we're prepared to put money into infrastructure."