Originally Posted by
BAengineer
I was talking about the basic systems - GPS, Autoflight, Weather Radar, Comms etc. They all operate in basically the same way using similar technology. the only real difference between something like an A380 and a B757 is that instead of multiple boxes you have a single 'mainframe' computer with all the functions contained within that one computer system.
As for FBW - well the B757 did have FBW (Spoilers), in fact I believe it was the first Boeing passenger aircraft to have FBW installed.
No, they are not 'basically the same' - entirely different technologies, particularly in the area of system communications - communication being the pathway for a potential hack (unless were talking about someone physically loading hacked software on the ground via access to the ebay). The 757 communication is based on ARINC 429 - one way communication, hard wired, nearly impossible to hack since you need to be physically connected to a point-to-point one way data bus. I don't know much about the A380 avionics, but the 777 uses ARINC 629 - a 'serial' data bus, with multiple systems communicating with each other over a common bus - far from 'hack proof' - if you get into one system you can potentially affect multiple systems. Then again, the 777 has protections and firewalls to prevent such a thing. The 787 uses AFDX - an Ethernet based serial system where multiple systems communicate over the same bus (functionally similar to the 777 ARINC 629 but entirely different technology.
Like I said before, I'd pay more attention to this if the claims to date weren't so laughably false - reporters that write this garbage are easily fooled, but the people who know and work on these systems know better.
Now, if someone claimed to hack a 777 or a 787, I'd be interested in whatever evidence they have, since while there are protections in place, there is at least a theoretical possibility of hacking into an ARINC 629 or AFDX based communication system. But when their 'examples' are 757 and 737 - both ARINC 429 based aircraft - they are clearly talking out their rear ends.