Security researcher Chris Roberts, during a United flight last month, reportedly posted a tweet saying he had managed to hack into the plane's electronic systems.
Now the FBI is claiming that the tweet was no joke. The FBI says that Chris Roberts actually managed to hack the systems, causing the plane to drift sideways during the flight.
“He was able to successfully run the CLB command (from climb) on the system. In this way, one of the plane’s engines began to climb, causing the entire plane to pitch sideways during the flight.”
Chris Roberts denied the charge.
"Over the past 5 years my only interest has been improving aircraft safety... but due to the current situation, I have been advised not to say much," Roberts said on Twitter.
He followed up: “Sorry but there is 5 years of substance that the affidavit is incorrectly compressed in just one spot…big mess.”
Apparently Roberts was able to successfully hack the plane's in-flight entertainment (IFE) system. Wired spoke to Roberts, who described the process as follows: he opened a box under the seat, plugged in a modified Ethernet cable, and logged into the IFE system using the default administrator username and passwords.
The next point is the most controversial, however: The FBI claims that it was then able to move from the IFE system to other networks on the plane, such as the networks connected to the engines, which allowed it to “commandeer” the plane.
You can see the search warrant first posted on a Canadian website on May 15 (.pdf).
