Use one paragraph to answer the question of which of the two aircraft breaches is more dangerous: 1) the breach of ACARS described in this case or 2) the breach created by the hacker (described earlier) who took control of a planes throttle briefly through the entertainment system and then tweeted about it? Why? (HINT: Be sure to choose only one of the breaches described as most dangerous. Do not say both.) Case Study 7-1 The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) On June 22, 2015, LOT, the state-owned Polish airline, had to ground at least 10 national and international flights because hackers breached the network at Warsaw's Chopin airport and intercepted the flight plans that pilots need before taking off. The grounding affected about 1,400 passengers and lasted over five hours before the problem was solved. A month earlier, United Airlines was reported to have experienced the same problem in the United States, and pilots reported bogus flight plans repeatedly popping up on the system. A consultant explained that the radio network that carried flight plans did not need authentication and was designed to trust the communications. A committee was then set up to develop a proposed standard for flight plan security. Fortunately, the flight plan did not control the plane, and a pilot had to accept and enter the plan. A strange result, such as heading to a distant city in the wrong direction, would not be entered or accepted. Even if the bogus plan were entered and accepted by the pilot, there was no danger of collision or crash because of the fraudulent plans. Any changes received to the plan while in flight had to be confirmed with air traffic controllers, who analyzed the new plan for safety. Alarms would also indicate a possible collision..

1. Use one paragraph to answer the question of which of the two aircraft breaches is more
dangerous: 1) the breach of ACARS described in this case or 2) the breach created by the hacker
(described earlier) who took control of a planes throttle briefly through the entertainment system
and then tweeted about it? Why? (HINT: Be sure to choose only one of the breaches described as
most dangerous. Do not say both.)
Case Study 7-1 The Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) On
June 22, 2015, LOT, the state-owned Polish airline, had to ground at least 10 national and
international flights because hackers breached the network at Warsaw's Chopin airport and
intercepted the flight plans that pilots need before taking off. The grounding affected about 1,400
passengers and lasted over five hours before the problem was solved. A month earlier, United
Airlines was reported to have experienced the same problem in the United States, and pilots
reported bogus flight plans repeatedly popping up on the system. A consultant explained that the
radio network that carried flight plans did not need authentication and was designed to trust the
communications. A committee was then set up to develop a proposed standard for flight plan
security. Fortunately, the flight plan did not control the plane, and a pilot had to accept and enter
the plan. A strange result, such as heading to a distant city in the wrong direction, would not be
entered or accepted. Even if the bogus plan were entered and accepted by the pilot, there was no
danger of collision or crash because of the fraudulent plans. Any changes received to the plan
while in flight had to be confirmed with air traffic controllers, who analyzed the new plan for safety.
Alarms would also indicate a possible collision.