App could make it possible to hijack plane

(MyFoxBoston.com) – An Android app could make it possible for a hacker to take a plane's flight control systems and pilot's screens.

The New York Post reports the app works by sending radio signals to the targeted plane that can change the display of the pilot's screens or even change the direction and altitude of the plane, according to Forbes.

The app was developed by Hugo Teso, a security researcher for a German IT consultant firm. Teso tells the newspaper the app exploits bugs in both a protocol that sends data to planes and the flight management software used in many commercial flights.

"You can use this system to modify approximately everything related to the navigation of the plane," Teso said at a conference in Amsterdam.

The app goes through the main security hole in the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Report System (ACARS), a system that handles all data in the plane's data and software.

Cox Media Group