He also claimed to CNN he had connected his laptop to some box under his seat and been able to view the flight management/engine info – although in Europe (and presumably worldwide) a lot of that same info (as well as various other stuff that is useful for air traffic control) is routinely transmitted in unencrypted form on VHF radio frequencies.
you can connect a radio scanner or SDR to your computer and download software to decode it; the app I use even fills up a database with info about the aircraft which it seems to get from Germany; and you can share the info online (I didn’t turn that bit on as although Ofcom say its OK to monitor the aircraft you are still responsible for what you do with the info; I personally don’t want to risk anyones safety and there are things on there which perhaps should not be widely shared (such as warnings of minor defects with the aircraft); and there is a war on..
TBH I wouldn’t connect my laptop to a random port on the same aircraft I was travelling on; at most I’d take a stealth photo of the box and then go ask one of the older chaps on the electronics forums what is did (many of them are ex-RAF) – not surprised he got nicked TBH and I guess he’s white American or he’d be in jail still…
United Airlines stopped a prominent security researcher from boarding a California-bound flight late on Saturday, following a social media post by the researcher days earlier that suggested the airline’s onboard systems could be hacked.
The researcher, Chris Roberts, attempted to board a United flight from Colorado to San Francisco to speak at a major security conference there this week, but was stopped by the airline’s corporate security at the gate. Roberts founded One World Labs, which tries to discover security risks before they are exploited.
Roberts had been removed from an earlier United flight on Wednesday by the FBI and questioned for four hours, after jokingly suggesting on Twitter he could get the oxygen masks on the plane to deploy. Authorities also seized his laptop and other electronics.
A lawyer for Roberts said United gave him no detailed explanation on Saturday why he wasn’t allowed on the plane, saying instead the airline would be sending Roberts a letter within two weeks stating why it wouldn’t let him fly on its aircraft.
United Airlines bars security researcher from flight after tweet about hacking | Business | The Guardian
