Airliner hacked? Computer expert told FBI he made plane move mid-flight

A security researcher told US agents he was able to hack into aircraft computer systems mid-flight numerous times through in-flight entertainment systems, and at one point he caused a plane he was on to move sideways, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.

Security and government experts say such cyber threats are real given that airplanes are increasingly connected to the Internet.

The researcher, Chris Roberts, was questioned upon his arrival at the Syracuse, New York, airport April 15. He had suggested on Twitter while on a United Airlines flight from Chicago that he could get the oxygen masks to deploy or interfere with the cockpit’s alert systems, according to the court filing in support of a search warrant for Roberts’ laptop and other electronics.

Roberts founded One World Labs, which tries to discover security risks before they are exploited. He had met previously, in February and March, with the FBI to discuss vulnerabilities with in-flight entertainment systems aboard certain aircraft, the affidavit said. During the meetings, Roberts claimed to have compromised the systems 15 to 20 times between 2011 and 2014, using a cable to connect his laptop to an electronics box located beneath passenger seats, the document said.

“He stated that he thereby caused one of the airplane engines to climb resulting in a lateral or sideways movement of the plane during one of these flights,” the affidavit said.

Roberts declined to comment Monday when reached at his Denver, Colorado, office. In a statement issued through his attorney, he said his “only interest has been to improve aircraft safety.”

“Given the current situation, I’ve been advised against saying more,” said the statement provided by Nate Cardozo, a staff attorney with the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation.