Hacking an Airliner from Coach?

Welcome back, my greenhorn hackers!

Have you ever wanted to fly an airliner from your seat in coach? Well, now you can!

Last week, security researcher, Ruben Santamarta, showed how he could interfere with a airplane's navigation and safety systems while sitting in coach. He was able to use the airliner's Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment system to access the plane's navigation and safety systems. He found a bug in the firmware of the plane's satellite communication systems to access the plane's internal digital systems.

This opens up the possibility that hijackers, terrorists, or just a kid who always wanted to be a pilot to take control of the plane's digital systems and wreak havoc from coach. Apparently, the satellite communication systems have a default username and password for log-in that enables technicians to access these systems for maintenance and repair. This username and password is the same on ALL systems enabling a hacker to get into the satellite firmware and from there, pivot to the airliners navigation and control systems.

Once again, it has been demonstrated that nothing is un-hackable, given ingenuity and skill.