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IN PHOTO: People use their smart devices on an American Airlines airplane, which is equipped with Gogo Inflight Internet service, enroute from Miami to New York December 10, 2013. Wi-Fi in the sky is taking off, promising much better connections for travelers and a bonanza for the companies that sell the systems. With satellite-based Wi-Fi, Internet speeds on jetliners are getting lightning fast. And airlines are finding that travelers expect connections in the air to rival those on the ground - and at lower cost. Picture taken December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Cyber security expert Chris Roberts said that two FBI agents along with two uniformed police officers took him off a commercial flight on Wednesday. The incident apparently took place after he had exposed vulnerabilities in airplane technology systems.

Roberts, who works for Colorado-based “One World Labs,” is one of the leading experts in the world on counter-threat intelligence in the cyber security industry. He recently revealed how vulnerable airplane technology systems are. However, FBI interrogated him for four hours after he landed in Syracuse.

Roberts was travelling in a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 flight. He was pulled off by the officers soon after he reached his destination. The expert earlier pointed out that passengers could manipulate airplane engines. “We can still take planes out of the sky thanks to the flaws in the in-flight entertainment systems,” he said, “Quite simply put, we can theorize on how to turn the engines off at 35,000 feet and not have any of those damn flashing lights go off in the cockpit.”

Four security experts informed the U.S. Government Accountability Office that a passenger could gain access to the avionics if the Wi-Fi system had the same router as the avionics system of the flight. An official from the Federal Aviation Administration told GAO that it was possible to make the system stronger with additional security measures.

Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon identified the threat as real and serious. The top Democrat on the House Transportation Committee said that FAA must focus on aircraft certification standards that would stop a passenger from taking control on an airplane. Acting Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Administration, Keith Washington, said that the risk was taken very seriously.

This was not the first encounter between Roberts and the FBI. However, it may be interesting to note that it was the FBI which requested Roberts on three occasions to meet its officers. The FBI apparently sought Roberts’ guidance on how to protect airplanes from cyber hackers.

FBI agents, on the other hand, seized a number of computer files and electronic devices from Roberts. They demanded that Roberts should provide access to his files.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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