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- Hacker News
- ...so they built an equivalent of OBDII reader for planes, and it worked just the same as ones for cars? Interesting but not as scary as the title may suggest.by numpad0
- Still too big, I’d like it to fit on the tip of a needle.
- Why coin sized, you can fit a gps tracker in a grain of rice-size pellet, why not a phone card.by iFire
- Actual paper for those interested: https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~savage/papers/UsenixSec26-429.pdfby stefansavage
- by snapsnail
- > the company may not in fact implement any such update to their systems for years to come, given how rarely commercial airplanes are redesigned.
Boeing commercial airplanes are constantly updated. As long as the airplane is in service, Boeing retains a team of engineers that update parts as needed. If FAA review is needed, this will of course take longer.
BTW, anyone with access to the internals of an airplane could potentially sabotage it. Sadly, all people with access need to undergo a security check.
by WalterBright - Sadly?
- “researchers aren't revealing which port they targeted on the 737, nor are they releasing some details of how their hacking device is able to spoof commands to the plane's computers”
Bro. You put “429 interceptor” on the PCB. You’re just fucking on the ARINC 429 bus.
Also, this exists as a commercial product (in some ways): https://www.astronics.com/wireless-electronic-flight-bags-we...
There's already a dongle on the market hooked in some 737s that gives you WiFi access to the 429 and 717 busses through the same port...
EDIT (again): Oh come on, the paper says they went into the Open Maintenance Connector through the E&E bay through the nose gear. C'moooon.
Double-triple edit: Also - ARINC 429 is kinda fun. You can do things like take old glass cockpit hardware and work it into your flight simulator by just feeding the cockpit hardware simulated 429 messages over the wire from your flight sim.
Here's some 737 instruments being driven from FSX: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtTJiU-vArs
by kotaKat - PS: HN, I'm really fucking getting tired of being punted to the absolute bottom of every fucking post, even when I post actually decent fucking content for once. Parent comment at +5 points and it's parked all the way at the dead bottom next to the greys. I get locked out for over a month with a half-ass "sorry, your account was flagged as spammy" excuse from dang and then still get punted into the bottom as if I'm too spammy.by kotaKat
- For folks who might be interested to know more;
ARINC defines a series of standards for Avionics Systems and Communications - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARINC
ARINC 429 is the most widely used data bus standard for aviation. Electrical and data format characteristics are defined for a two-wire serial bus with one transmitter and up to 20 receivers. The bus is capable of operating at a speed of 100 kbit/s. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARINC_429
by rramadass - > In their paper, the researchers outline a range of fixes for the vulnerability they've uncovered, starting with removing the connector in the vulnerable port altogether, or plugging it with epoxy.
If you can safely disable the port completely, that implies the port is not needed to begin with. Is that really true? What's the purpose for it?
by kmoser - Probably diagnostics and debugging.by padjo
- The connector shown in the article is apparently the 24-pin connector known as the Open Maintenance Connector (OMC). It's located in the electronics and equipment bay under the nose of the Boeing 737 NG and 737 Max.
I say "apparently" as I had Gemini identify the port from the image.
The OMC provides direct access to key avionics data networks, including the ARINC 429 buses that link the pilot's Flight Management Computer (FMC) to the Multi-Function Control and Display Unit (MCDU).
by ctippett - It’s not actually called the OMC. That was a generic name used in the paper in lieu of naming the precise connector.by stefansavage
- I started my career proper as a junior network engineer for a regional British airline (British Midland, since subsumed by BA) in 2001, just before 9/11 continuing for 3 years until mid 2004. Throughout that time, I held an airside pass at LHR that allowed me to get pretty much anywhere I liked, apart from the taxiways and runways of course.
This was pretty standard for most staff - once you’re airside, there were not many restrictions about getting down under the ramp or anywhere around an aircraft on a stand.
Never was this illustrated better than the final homecoming of a BA Concorde in late 2003, when a whole load of staff from different roles across the airport all piled out onto the edge of the apron to wave it home.
A junior IT bod in a high-vis touching something on the outside of an aircraft ? Wouldn’t stand out to anyone watching a CCTV feed. Maybe the other ramp staff would notice, but if you timed it right…
What I’m trying to say is that physical access to aeroplanes even at a place like LHR was pretty much open to anyone who holds an airside pass.
by danw1979 - It’s crazy how much trust there was prior 9/11. I’m wondering if it’s the same nowadays if you get to a certain position or if everything is perfectly compartmentalisedby elias_t
- Tangential story. I used to work for one of Australia's 'Big 4' banks. One night I was working in one of the 2 'tier 1' DCs. The place was chock-full of ancient kit. Old mainframes. Tape drives. Nothing in a locked cabinet: this was a room from the 1960s, still active in 2007. I remember it being very beige.
It occurred to me that the catastrophe I could have caused simply by ripping out as many cables as I could see would have been … if not a mini-recession, certainly the sort of thing that moved markets.
Yeah yeah, redundancy and backups. I knew the infrastructure. It wouldn't have worked, not for weeks anyway.
To be in said room, I had undergone a cursory police check.
by jen729w - You'd have to build many more barriers and gates to stop that, which would be awkward for baggage systems, fuelling, and general maintenance.
The question is more - how hard is it to get airside without a pass?
I once went in through the main arrivals exit doors at Heathrow. I'd forgotten something so I went in, got it, came out again.
It was a stupid thing to do, but I wasn't arrested, stopped, or anythinged.
This was before 9/11 so I doubt you could do it today. But even so.
- > less than a minute, that hardware implant can be fitted into a port accessible via a hatch on the exterior of the plane
Just as with computers, as the saying goes, if you have physical access to the device then all bets are off. The tricky part is getting that physical access in the first place...
by United857 - > Just as with computers, as the saying goes, if you have physical access to the device then all bets are off
This is far less true than it used to be, though, and it seems reasonable to expect that aircraft become as secure as Macs.
by acdha - It is not that simple, atleast in the automotive industry _today_. Atleast here in EU.
Every component is analyzed from a cyber security perspective. Many components needs tampering protection - while others need not. This includes replacing components with malicious ones.
It is not logical at all and a stupid regulation. But it is not as simple as you can do what you want if you have physical access.
by dosshell - Of course. Doesn’t mean we should leave the root password written down on a post-it next to the hardware. It sounds strange that such a privileged port has no authentication.by jurgenburgen
- one that's routinely within reach of maintenance workers or other airport and airline staff between flights
You already trust them (as well as the pilots) every time with your flight.
by userbinator - Are these the same maintenance workers that have access to even more sensitive parts of the airplane like the avionics compartment and its miles of wiring?
Wait until they find out your mechanic has unfettered access to your car's OBD port when you hand them the keys. They could install a COIN SIZED device on the CAN bus and you'd never know.
Some people do this voluntarily in exchange for a discount on their insurance.
There's literally millions of people driving newfangled EVs where the car manufacturer has full remote access to their vehicle and can upload software however and whenever they like.
I forgot only the nefarious ones wear yellow reflective vests and earmuffs.
by pudgywalsh - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/mar/06/avalon-airp...
That trust was what led to this incident where someone just walked into the airplane dressed as a maintainence worker and nobody stopped him.
Also pilot suicide isn't something new and the aviation world has tried to come up with several regulations to ensure it doesn't happen even though we completely trust pilots on a normalative basis.
by altmanaltman - With the low pay and ever-worsening working conditions, I'd be more worried about oversights/negligence than intentional sabotage (which sometimes happens all the way at manufacturing stage - see the Boeing door incident).
Unfortunately, that is unlikely to get media coverage because the solution would be to respect and pay workers more, a severe crime in a late-stage capitalistic society.
by Nextgrid