faa

Here's a scary statistic: the number of incidents involving people shining laser pointers into airplane cockpits has increased roughly 1,100 per cent since 2005. That number comes from the United States' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which ... recently reported that the number of laser pointer attacks in January 2013 was 346. Meanwhile, throughout the year 2005 there were only 283 of these attacks. For the FAA, this is a very serious matter. So serious, in fact, that it has established a web site dedicated to outlining the threat such attacks pose to pilots and airline passengers. ( ... (view more)

Last week a security researcher based in Europe revealed that, using some hardware and software available on eBay, he was able to develop an application that could be used to remotely control a commercial plane , mid-flight. That researcher was ... Germany's Hugo Teso, who demonstrated his trick by producing a special Android app that automated the process of taking control of a plane and then re-directing it. The app, which is called 'PlaneSploit,' takes advantage of security vulnerabilities in the aviation industry's communications systems. (Source: gawker.com ) Teso said he was working closely ... (view more)

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a new report allowing the use of improved satellite antennas on commercial aircraft. The new hardware will significantly improve in-flight wireless Internet (WiFi) service on many US airline ... flights. Right now, few US airlines have outfitted their planes with hardware capable of offering their passengers fast and reliable wireless Internet service. For many passengers, the result is significantly reduced productivity during the time they spend in the air. FCC: Americans Want Better In-Flight WiFi Apparently, that's about to change. A ... (view more)

A government audit has found more than 3,800 vulnerabilities were reportedly found in the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) web-based air traffic control system applications. 763 of the vulnerabilities are high-risk and some could put air ... travelers at risk. Congress requested the audit of air traffic control (ATC) computer systems in order to ensure air travelers were safe. (Source: cgisecurity.com ) The FAA has been using commercial software and Internet Protocol-based technologies in order to modernize ATC systems, moving away from the proprietary software the systems were ... (view more)