Two flights bound for Israel over the past week have suffered attempts to hijack their communications and divert the aircraft, according to local reports.
Citing a report from national broadcaster Kan Reshet B, The Jerusalem Post claimed that hackers attempted to hijack the planes' communications networks in order to divert them from their pre-programmed route.
Although the aircraft were flying over an area in which Iranian-backed Houthis are active, sources have claimed it could be the work of a group operating from Somaliland - an unrecognized state in the Horn of Africa.
The pilots reportedly became suspicious about the sudden change in instructions and ignored them, switching to another communications channel and double-checking their route with air traffic controllers.
An El Al source revealed that pilots are trained to spot and mitigate such threats whilst in the air.
The EU's aviation safety agency EASA recently revamped its cybersecurity regulations for the sector with the release of the first Easy Access Rules for Information Security.
They're designed to enforce best practice security across the industry, covering an exhaustive range of suppliers as well as airlines, airports, communication infrastructure providers and air towers.
This Cyber News was published on www.infosecurity-magazine.com. Publication date: Mon, 19 Feb 2024 10:20:14 +0000