6 ms·
The next sentence pretty much confirms my impression that this claim is almost certainly bullshit: > Because the plane runs a different operating system, nothi
by TillE 11y ago
The next sentence pretty much confirms my impression that this claim is almost certainly bullshit:
> Because the plane runs a different operating system, nothing would befall it. But it would pass the virus on to other devices that plugged into the charger.
That's just...not how computers work.
- elcapitan 11y agoIt's true that that scenario is not relevant, but the fact that there is a direct connection between the usb ports for charging stuff and the planes' computer is obviously a point of intrusion for attacks like Stuxnet.
- jessriedel 11y agoMight be the case that the USB ports are for interacting with the plane's computers, and the charging being done by the pilots is against the rules.
- MichaelBurge 11y agoI could maybe understand it if it was a USB hub, and the phones all had a defect that meant rogue USB signals could infect them. So if 2 people plugged into the same hub at the same time, it could spread. But if the claim is that the virus lie 'dormant' in the uninfectable plane OS, then I can't understand that.
- nitrogen 11y agoUSB devices cannot contact each other, only the master can communicate with the devices on the bus. It is a tree with one device at the root.
- SonicSoul 11y agonice catch. can't help but think of Independence Day when Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith infect alien mothership with a mac virus from a 3.5 floppy which specifically disabled its protective shield. "will give it a cold" Edit: corrected it's its
- vixen99 11y ago'it is protective shield?'. That's what you've written in effect. http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/its-vs-its http://www.merriam-webster.com/video/its-vs-its
- fao_ 11y ago> disabled its protective shield I think you added an apostrophe by accident, or the poster corrected the mistake.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- delecti 11y agoThere's a deleted scene that explains that all of our computer technology has been covertly based on the results of the Area 51 research into the crashed ship. It makes that bit a little less silly.
- jojo3000 11y agoIf behind the USB port is some (writeable) data storage (for PDF manuals etc) this is quite possible.
- elcapitan 11y agoOr some infectable USB controller is involved.
- seanp2k2 11y agoWhat on here is able to store malware? https://learn.adafruit.com/minty-boost/parts-list https://learn.adafruit.com/minty-boost/parts-list If the USB chargers in cockpits are any more complex than the above, why?
- jcrawfordor 11y agoThey almost certainly aren't USB chargers. Probably USB ports for inserting thumb drives to update the navigational charts. These kinds of USB ports are [mis]used for charging phones all the time, and the phone can end up being mounted as a mass-storage device. No idea how the rest of the exploit would work in this scenario though, I have a hard time believing it.
- reacweb 11y agoI think the sentence "But it would pass the virus on to other devices that plugged into the charger." comes from the reporter, showing that he does not understand computers. It is plausible that malwares were copied without being executed.
- eterm 11y agoA virus is something that copies itself. If something is copying a virus, it is infected. So the virus would have to infect both android and the cockpit to spread from phone to cockpit to phone.
- tinco 11y agoNot at all, that's like saying floppy disk viruses happened because both PCs and floppy disks were vulnerable. Just imagine the cockpit to be a floppy disk. You plug your phone in, and your infected phone puts a file in the cockpit. Then someone with a vulnerable phone plugs into the cockpit, reads the file and is infected. Not saying that's how it happened, just that it's possible.
- vetinari 11y agoThe hole in the argument is, why would the second phone read the file and execute it? We are waaaay past autorun.
- tinco 11y agoWhy would the first phone read the file and execute it? ( this is an exercise for the reader, not an actual question )
- seanp2k2 11y agoSadly, we're not: http://www.windows10update.com/2015/05/windows-10-tutorials-85-how-to-disable-the-autorun-feature/ http://www.windows10update.com/2015/05/windows-10-tutorials-...
- NickM 11y agoI think they mean "because the computers that fly the plane run a different OS than the computers that control the in-flight entertainment". The malware isn't going to cause the plane to crash, but it could still execute and spread itself via those little seat-back touch screens with their USB ports.
- overcast 11y agoBullshit, I've watched Independence Day. You can easily take down advanced alien warships with some objective-c.
- insulanian 11y agoWas that really Objective-C?
- overcast 11y agoWell it was on a mac laptop :)
- theptip 11y agoSee the recent BadUSB attack [1][2] for how this sort of attack can work; the firmware of the USB microcontroller itself can be infected. [1] https://srlabs.de/badusb/ https://srlabs.de/badusb/ [2] http://www.wired.com/2014/07/usb-security/ http://www.wired.com/2014/07/usb-security/
- na85 11y agoDoesn't badusb have to pwn the host OS to propagate?
- onetimePete 11y agoNope, and reinstalling it wont help it..
- aaron695 11y agoCan work is irrelevant. And mostly wrong, since can is not do. They claim it is happening.