"Israeli Aircraft Survive Cyber-Hijacking Attempts"

Two flights bound for Israel over the past week have suffered attempts to hijack their communications and divert the aircraft.  The El Al flights were both travelling from Thailand to Israel’s Ben Gurion international airport and apparently encountered “hostile elements.” No group has claimed responsibility. 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.  Reports claim that fortunately, the pilots 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 (EAR) for Information Security (Part IS).  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.

Infosecurity reports: "Israeli Aircraft Survive Cyber-Hijacking Attempts"