Is Boeing's New 747 Hackable?

The computers onboard Boeing Co.'s newest version of its largest commercial aircraft, the 747-8, could be hacked, according to a little noticed item published in the Federal Register by the Federal Aviation Administration on Jan. 15.

FAA said the 747-8, slated to make its first flight on a yet-to-be-specified date this month, has a network and architecture that could allow external sources to access aircraft systems.

The 747-8 has a network that supports control systems, another that supports safe operations and maintenance and another for passenger information systems.

FAA said the airliner's system architecture "may allow the exploitation of network security vulnerabilities resulting in intentional or unintentional destruction, disruption, degradation, or exploitation of data, systems, and networks critical to the safety and maintenance of the airplane."

FAA said that before it certifies the 747-8 for operation, Boeing:

• must ensure electronic system security protection for the aircraft control domain and airline information domain from access by unauthorized sources external to the airplane, including those possibly caused by maintenance activity.
• ensure that electronic system security threats from external sources are identified and assessed, and that effective electronic system security protection strategies are used to protect the airplane from all adverse impacts on safety, functionality, and continued airworthiness.

Boeing launched development of the 747-8 in 2005 with orders for 10 freighters from Cargolux of Luxembourg and eight from Nippon Cargo Airlines of Japan. Lufthansa placed an order for 20 400-seat passenger versions in 2006, and in December 2009 Korean Air ordered five passenger versions.

I'm not ready to fly on any 747-8 - even as cargo - until Boeing resolves potential hacking problems.