Presenter to talk about hacking passenger jet equipment
Not the most comforting thought, but then again Black Hat is not an annual venue content with comforting its audience of hackers and security experts. They come to Black Hat events because they are out to learn more about the cybersecurity risks they need to address. A security consultant this week is to tell the Black Hat audience why and how passenger jets may be at risk of cyberattacks. Ruben Santamarta, principal security consultant at IOActive. said he has figured out how to hack satellite communications equipment on passenger jets through their Wi-Fi and inflight entertainment systems. Not surprisingly, tech sites on Monday were buzzing over his planned presentation this week, since satellite communications attacks, in the context of air travel, pose potentially such devastating consequences. Jim Finkle, Reuters correspondent, said the consultant's presentation is expected to be one of the most widely watched at the conference in Las Vegas.