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Can a computer virus potentially crash an airplane?
By admin | October 3, 2010
Hi,I did the following:
Q&A: Can a computer virus potentially crash an airplane?
Rainy:The pictures have nothing to do with the content!!
This Air France flight has me thinking, since everything on a plane is reliant on computers and electricity, is it possible that one day a computer virus can down a plane? What do u think?
The answer in the following:
Answer by Jake
well if you think about it ya it could. if you had some way to acess the signals being sent to the plane by the tower then you could send a disabling virus to the onboard computer, but the amount of inside knowledge that would be required would be immense. hope this helps
Answer by Count Cortes
No they can turn the systems off and fly on complete manual. Of course, they will not be able to make it to the destination only basing themselves on intuition but a virus cannot just break turbines or any electronic system, it can only make it malfunction if it set to be commanded by a computer.
I think this incident is due to Alien involvement!
Think about it… there was no mayday from the pilots, not contact from anyone on board and there are no traces of a crasharoundn the area… Whatever brought down the plane must have done it quickly, as the pilots would haveeradioedd in any unfavorablee flying conditions way before crashing.
Answer by Jason Armbrecht
It could theoretically happen. All computer systems in anything can be affected by malicious code, providing there is a means of entry and that the code can operate with the host system it infects.
Virus code could be (somehow, dont ask me how) injected into the autopilot of a modern airplane and take control…however, once the pilots realize that pressing the auto-pilot disconnect button doesnt work, they simply pull the corresponding circuit breaker (or breakers, usually MS3320) which are typically located behind or above them, inside the cockpit.
This will completely disconnect the autopilot from electrical power, thus rendering it useless. The same principal can apply with other computer-based systems on the aircraft…
Answer by Techwing
Yes, this is theoretically possible, especially as commodity computer systems creep more and more onto flight decks. The notion of connecting an internal control network to a passenger-accessible network (as some manufacturers are contemplating) also opens the door to viruses and other forms of sabotage.
The most dangerous trend in aviation today is the rush to computerize everything.
Answer by Lt. Dan
Well if they could slipt it into the flight computers like the other answerers said, they would have to be very stealthy about it and make it unnoticable, for example i remember one flight that crashed into mountains because the pilots imput the wrong airport code into the flight management system because it started with the same letter, and they didnt check it, so the auto pilot flew them the wrong way and into mountains, so if supposed hackers knew where the exact waypoints were in a flight and used a virus to change the waypoints into a dangerzone, or something that would slip right under the pilots noses, but that would be hard to do, pilots are very aware and check things a lot.
For hackers good enough and patient and smart enough to pull that off, they would have nothing to gain and just be in massive trouble, and as for terrorists, how many terrorists are there with that kind of hacking skill.
Answer by Propman
By “virus” you mean a malicious program subroutine that self replicates and moves from one host computer to the next.
The computers that operate systems on aircraft are quite different from the laptop or desktop computer that you are used too. Their software architecture does not provide the environment needed for virus activity as we normally define it. They also operate in a very isolated function, processing large amounts of data but access to software functions is very limited. Data bases are frequently updated (as in the case of FMS GPS) but these updates do not access software but only the database. The source for these updates is strictly controlled by the vendor supplying the data and the data is subject to rigorous quality controls to insure its accuracy and safety before we mechanics get it. Their interaction with other computers is limited to sharing only required information and typically not software commands like “copy” or “execute”.
So the possibility of a virus infecting an onboard computer the same way one would crash your desktop computer is not likely.
There have been cases where undesirable performance has occurred as the result of software ‘errors’ that originated from legitimate sources but these have tended to be more of an annoyance than a safety issue.
The bottom line is your aircraft computers are well protected from unintended software commands that will compromise your safety.
Answer by Henry J
If it’s a skilled pilot, it may only complicate things.
It also depends on how computer-dependent the plane is.
Don’t even think about trying it, though.
Answer by jwenting
theoretically possible, except that the on board computers have no interface with the outside world so there’s no way for them to get infected.
The only infection vectors would be datalinks to upload new software and navigation data, and those are all served from computers that are dedicated to the purpose and kept meticulously secure.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
References:
Topics: Computer Virus | No Comments »
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