Polish aeroplanes grounded by computer hack | Hacker News Reader

Polish aeroplanes grounded by computer hack

bbc.com

52 pointsSpaceInvader15 comments

"We're using state-of-the-art computer systems, so this could potentially be a threat to others in the industry,"

Companies that describe their computer systems as state-of-the-art probably usually have legacy mainframes with duct tape patches.

In aerospace, tried-and-true "legacy" systems are much preferred to "state-of-the-art", as newer often means there are more bugs that have yet to be discovered.

> Companies that describe their computer systems as state-of-the-art probably usually have legacy mainframes with duct tape patches.

I prefer mainframes with programs that are tried and tested.

Also LOT's quality and customer support is really questionable, with premium prices at that.

One story: I was flying turbo-propeller from Warsaw to Vienna and the cockpit door opened itself (seriously, without any intervention) during take-off. The stewardesses didn't seem to care for quite a long time.

And here I thought we've had these strict rules after 9/11.

Turboprop business is an another airline, eurolot; it changes, but it is often a separate company.

Indeed, a huge missed opportunity for al-Qaeda.

i thought the same.

On the bright side, at least we didn't get technobabble like they "reversed the notation to keep the noobs out". (HP-48 forever!)

LOT stressed that the glitch did not affect the airport or aeroplanes that were already in the air.

In other words, this doesn't seem like an actual avionics hack. It's some other system being targeted, so the planes themselves are probably still OK.

Hack disrupted flight plan generation = no new flights. LOT spokesperson stated during radio interview they turned off internal network responsible for flight plan generation when they realized it was compromised by a hacker, so it wasnt even a hacker directly DOSing their operations.

And, as the airlines keep assuring us "the avionics are completely separate to the other on board systems":

http://www.wired.com/2015/05/feds-say-banned-researcher-comm...

Oh yeah, except for "some Boeing and Airbus planes"…

Somehow "industry reassurance" that this is "impossible" isn't to reassuring…

Everybody is waiting for the story of somebody hacking a 747 and flying it from the economy plus section.

It'll happen eventually, but hacking the computer that filed the flight plan is not hacking the plane.

If LOT had a few back up laptops on a different network they would have been able to file flight plans with no delays.

State of the art, space aged technology.

> Poland has announced a deal to buy US Patriot surface-to-air missiles, amid rising tension with Russia.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-32405650

How is that relevant to the LOT issue?

It's a red herring meant to distract us from the chemtrails

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