By Siobhan Gorman
Excerpt:
Civilian air-traffic computer networks have been penetrated multiple times in recent years, including an attack that partially shut down air-traffic data systems in Alaska, according to a government report.
The report, which was released by the Transportation Department's inspector general Wednesday, warned that the Federal Aviation Administration's modernization efforts are introducing new vulnerabilities that could increase the risk of cyberattacks on air-traffic control systems. The FAA is slated to spend approximately $20 billion to upgrade its air-traffic control system over the next 15 years.
Tom Kellermann, a vice president at Core Security Technologies, a cybersecurity company, likened the threats cited by the report to the television show "24" in which terrorists hack into and commandeer the FAA's air-traffic control system to crash planes. "The integrity of the data on which ground control is relying can be manipulated, much as seen in '24,'" he said.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
