In May 2015, a cyber security researcher claimed that he had successfully hacked into an airplane’s system and had taken control of it, causing it to briefly fly sideways.
Apparently this wasn’t the first time he had probed an aircraft’s network, estimating that he had infiltrated the in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems 15-20 times.
While it hasn’t been proven yet as to whether or not the researcher accomplished this feat, it bears noting that the aviation sector is facing increasing interest from actors trying to exploit it.
Since that discovery, in June, the Polish airline LOT suffered an IT attack on ground operation systems. As a result, 10 flights were canceled, another dozen were delayed and over 1,400 passengers were grounded at Warsaw Chopin Airport.
