More things to worry about - the hipster next to you might take the plane down with his Apple Watch because he's a gray hat hacker. And people who whistle in close quarters should be tased anyway.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found in a 2013 report that there existed virtually no evidence to support the notion that “behavioral indicators … can be used to identify persons who may pose a risk to aviation security.” The GAO concluded, after analysis of hundreds of scientific studies, that “the human ability to accurately identify deceptive behavior based on behavioral indicators is the same as or slightly better than chance.”
Chris Roberts of the Colorado-based One World Labs, a security intelligence firm that identifies risks before they're exploited, said two FBI agents and two uniformed police officers pulled him off a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 commercial flight Wednesday night just after it landed in Syracuse, and spent the next four hours questioning him about cyberhacking of planes.
One World Labs is a security intelligence firm that identifies risks before they’re exploited.
We offer access to the world’s largest database of dark content and provide comprehensive assessment and consulting services to protect corporations, government and non-profit organizations.
The FBI interrogation came just hours after Fox News published a report on Roberts’ research, in which he said: “We can still take planes out of the sky thanks to the flaws in the in-flight entertainment systems. Quite simply put, we can theorize on how to turn the engines off at 35,000 feet and not have any of those damn flashing lights go off in the cockpit.”
Roberts’ findings were featured on FoxNews.com, on Fox News Radio and on the Fox News show "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren" on March 19, 2015, and again on April 15, 2015.
Ruben Santamarta, principal security consultant for IOActive, told Fox News he also discovered a backdoor that allowed him to gain privileged access to the Satellite Data Unit, the most important piece of SATCOM (Satellite communications) equipment on aircraft.
“These vulnerabilities allowed unauthenticated users to hack into the SATCOM equipment when it is accessible through WiFi or In-Flight entertainment networks,” Santamarta said.
Roberts isn’t sure what will happen next. He had to make his presentation to the defense industry Thursday in Syracuse without his electronics. Friday morning, he was scheduled to fly back to Denver, something he hopes he will be allowed to do. He already has been pre-checked through TSA, another irony he pointed out.