to hacking. aviation and government regulation correspondent rene marsh is in d.c. for us. what is this about? reporter: this is all based on interviews with cyber security and aviation experts. this report says someone with a laptop and access to the plane s wi-fi could in theory commandeer the aircraft put a virus into the flight control computers and jeopardize the safety of the flight by taking control of those computers. also could impact the warnings systems or the navigational systems. that from this report. now, the type of aircraft that could be vulnerable the boeing dreamliner airbus 350 and 380. the author of this government report tells me there are about 200 to 300 aircraft flying that could be vulnerable. i did speak with airbus they say they are constantly assessing its aircraft to make sure it is in the highest safety standard. boeing also points out that
a shocking report finds airline computer systems are at great risk of being hacked. ashley webster from our sister network fox business is here with the new warning. hi ashley. good morning. a report by a government accountability office paints a very disturbing picture of how vulnerable commercial aircraft could be to hackers. government investigators say it is theoretically possible for someone with just a lap top to common deer the aircraft put a virus from flight control computers jeopardize the safety of the flight by taking over control the computers take over the warpen significant warning systems or navigation have is temsystems. the airlines are relying on fire walls to create barriers. because they are software they can be hacked. the government report goes on to say, quote internet connectivity in the cabin should be considered a direct link between the aircraft and the outside world which includes
the end of last year. the important part is, this is the slowest growth there since 2009, just after the financial crisis. a u.s. government agency warns it may be possible to take over a commercial plane with nothing other than a laptop. this new report says computers on hundreds of newer planes are vulnerable to hacking, either by someone on board or even on the ground. that s because the cockpits use the same wi-fi at passengers. the report says it s possible somewhere could actually commandeer the aircraft, put a virus into the flight control computers and even take over the warning or navigation systems. cnn aviation analyst mary sciavo says cyber security should be a top priority. this is the second in a series of reports they did the first one in january. in january, they found that the faa had failed to take this into consideration in building their
onboard computers can essentially be hacked by anyone with a laptop on board or someone with a laptop on the ground. the report goes on to say this is all based on interviews with cybersecurity experts, as well as aviation experts. they then outline a couple of theories. they say someone with a laptop could, a, common deer the aircraft and could put a virus into the flight control computers, they could also jeopardize the safety of the flight by taking control of the computers and, lastly they say, a hacker could take over the warning systems or the navigational systems of the aircraft and we know those are all critical components here. again, this is just coming out but the headline one of the headlines is that they found a vulnerability with these highly automated aircraft and they are saying that the faa needs to address it at this point, brooke. this is not something any of us want to hear when we hop on
and commandeer an aircraft. aviation correspondent rene marsh is outfront in washington. this is a terrifying report when you read through it because among many things, the hacker doesn t actually even have to be onboard the plane to take it down. absolutely right, erin. this report says that these airplanes are connected to the internet, and the planes are basically flying routers which can be compromised by someone who is on the plane or someone who is on the ground. now, this is all based on interviews with cybersecurity experts aviation experts. they essentially all agree that using a laptop someone in theory, as you mentioned, could commandeer an aircraft, put a virus into the flight control computers. jeopardize the safety of the flight by taking control of the plane s computers, or they could even take over warning systems or even navigational systems. the report also explains that you know as the air traffic control system is upgraded to