lawstudent
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I know this has been discussed before,but why is it an impossability that the planes computers were taken over remotely by someone on the plane? They say nobody has the technology to do that yet,but there has to be a first. And I would guess a trial run at it. With all the technology and ability to hack why is that so far fetched?
If that's were ever the case, no airplane is safe.
I don't think it can be said that it's an impossibility, but it's by no means easy. The plane didn't have an Internet connection at all, let alone one connected to its computer systems, so someone would have had to have installed their own on board and connected it to the computer systems without detection. And also configured it to tell the hacker where the plane was, and somehow lock it such that the pilot wouldn't be able to use the controls or call for help. People often hack into computers by tricking you into downloading some software that gives them control - would an airplane system even have the capability of opening whatever software would be needed? There has to be an access point.
ETA: And no computer system is safe - hacking is always a possibility. This is why I don't necessarily think the answer is making things more automated and remote, and I'd rather take my chance with a pilot. Having your system hacked and having the plane actually controlled are two different things though. You could hack into a plane and mess around with it, but the pilot could still have control from his end. And I don't think all the systems are connected, so it'd be hard to get control of everything, like the radio communications.