Malaysia Airlines Flight 370

Quote:This theory however has been shot down by Spaniard Hugo Teso, a security consultant who explored the feasibility of flight systems being hijacked in a presentation he made at the Hack-In-The-Box security summit held in Amsterdam in April 2013.
Teso, a commercial pilot with a keen interest in aviation security demonstrated how, had said in his presentation then that with the use of an Android smartphone and specific codes, he could take over an aircraft’s flight and communication systems.
Speaking to FMT, he however dismissed the possibility that this may have happened in the case of MH370.
“To even try an attack against the onboard systems would require a great deal of effort and resources.
“I’m quite certain that this sort of attack was not carried,” said Teso.
“Just common sense and without knowing much of the details, it is more likely that a chain of errors, malfunction or a sabotage or attack are reasons for MH370 to go missing.”
During his presentation at the annual hacker’s summit last year, Teso claimed he could use an ‘attack code’ he developed called ‘SIMON’ and an Android application called ‘PlaneSploit’ to take over full control of not only the plane’s onboard system but also the pilot’s display screens.

Teso said that his presentation was done to highlight vulnerabilities in the Automated Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) and Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS).
He said he wanted to alert the aviation industry in general as the current system was not prepared to handle such an attack.
Following Teso’s findings, the US’ Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) swiftly refuted his claim saying “it is impossible to fully takeover control of an aircraft, as alleged”.
Professor Husin Jazri, former CEO of CyberSecurity Malaysia, said that in theory cyber hijacking can work but in reality it is not always possible.
“Taking control of a plane using remote access by someone in the plane can be easily derailed and overcome by the pilots taking over the controls manually. The pilots have greater control and cannot be electronically bypassed that easily,” Husin told FMT.
“This is the same scenario in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) environments but there are many loopholes which can be exploited as the individual is required to be on site or within frequency range,” he added.
SCADA is an industrial control system (ICS) using computers to monitor and control industrial processes used in manufacturing, water treatment plants and electricity power grids.
MH370 went missing an hour into its flight over the South China Sea on March 8 after taking off from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport en route to Beijing, China.
Investigators have confirmed that the flight’s communication system and transponders were disabled on board.