How Serious is the Risk of Airplane Hacking?

In 2015, several hackers managed to hack a Jeep's computer, disrupting the vehicle's audio and air conditioning systems. However, if hackers can hack an airplane, the implications could be far more serious. It has now been revealed that this has happened, as a group of hackers managed to hack a Boeing 757 in 2016. Robert Hickey, a national security researcher, was the individual who was able to take complete control of the Boeing 757 while the aircraft was still on the runway at Atlantic City Airport in New Jersey. According to CBS News, a group of engineers was able to remotely hack the flight control system of the Boeing 757 without the pilots noticing. Production of the Boeing 757 ceased in 2004, but it is still used by some airlines like Delta; Donald Trump's private jet before his presidency was also a Boeing 757. Robert Hickey explained at the CyberSec conference, 'We were able to take control of this aircraft on September 19, 2016. Two days later, I personally managed to remotely infiltrate the plane. I hadn't even sent anyone inside the aircraft. We only succeeded with some radio frequencies.' With the revelation of this incident, there are concerns that in the near future, as pilotless aircraft become more widespread, the possibility of hacking them will be much greater than today. Currently, one of the biggest challenges for self-driving cars is the issue of hacking, and this could be even more dangerous in airplanes. If non-human guidance systems and artificial intelligence provide more safety than humans, then the development of these technologies could be considered. However, the problem is that artificial intelligence still has a long way to go, and even its use in cars faces many uncertainties. The second issue is the potential for hacking artificial intelligence during flight, a factor that could easily lead to a catastrophic disaster. Recently, Boeing announced plans to develop pilotless passenger planes. According to Reuters, Boeing intends to test some technologies related to the construction of pilotless aircraft next year. Although passenger planes can currently perform part of the flight process using the computers available in the cockpit, the supervision of the pilot and co-pilot is necessary so that they can take over at the right time in case of system errors or emergencies. Mike Sinn, Vice President of Product Development at Boeing, states, 'A pilotless aircraft may seem like a distant idea, but considering that drones costing less than a thousand dollars have entered the market, it can be claimed that the underlying technology for this process is ready.' Mike Sinn says that in the coming years, he will be on an aircraft where artificial intelligence will make some decisions instead of pilots. The Vice President of Boeing's aircraft manufacturing division emphasized that the technology for pilotless passenger planes is still in its early stages, adding, 'Initially, such an aircraft must fully comply with international safety standards to fly. It is still unclear whether pilotless passenger planes can perform emergency landings or not.' In response to the revelation of the hacking of its 757 model, Boeing states that it is unlikely that similar potential attacks will threaten its current aircraft. However, the question that arises now is that if engineers were able to hack a 757, whose computer systems are much less computerized than today's aircraft, will the risk of hacking fully computerized future airplanes not be greater?