

Fearing United plane was hacked, FBI pulls security expert off flight - apo
http://money.cnn.com/2015/04/17/technology/security/fbi-plane-hack/index.html

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Nadya
Reposting my opinion on this from a previous discussion:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9390480](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9390480)

"Harmless pranks" like this can have bad results... however they highlight how
insecure flights can be in a way that will grab attention in ways that would
otherwise be ignored. There needs to be more available venues for PenTesters
and white/greyhat hackers to be paid for their line of work. But security is
often overlooked because the masses aren't educated on the subject. The number
of companies that have lied about "your information is totally secure" is
beyond belief. This is one of the reasons why.

E:

Adding on.

>Roberts said he took to Twitter out of frustration that Airbus and Boeing
(BA) - the world's two largest plane manufacturers -- aren't listening to
warnings he's made for years.

No surprise here. This is why I'm not sure how I feel about stuff like this.
It _does_ raise more awareness and maybe airlines will stop dragging their
feet when they start getting bad publicity for being insecure.

E:

>Mark Turnage, the firm's CEO, said they met with two FBI agents in Denver on
several occasions -- and was told to never hook up his laptop to a plane
again.

So people are going to have to wait until an incident results in death for
them to fix this? That's what it sounds like.

------
gcb0
nice. the companies don't have to fix a obvious security issue, but we can't
take a bottle of water or shampoo on board?

despite this being a publicity stunt by the firm trying to get paid, hired,
it's a much needed one!

