$100 Device Can Hack Boeing 737 in Under a Minute: Researchers Warn

Researchers from the University of California San Diego and Oberlin College have demonstrated that a small hardware device can manipulate critical Boeing 737 systems through an externally accessible maintenance port.

The team spent over a decade studying whether physical access to an aircraft could compromise its security, and developed a prototype device roughly the size of a coin for under $100. The device can be installed in under a minute and is capable of transmitting electrical signals across internal communication networks.

In laboratory testing, these signals allowed the researchers to spoof commands sent to flight management systems, including modifying autopilot flight waypoints, altering aircraft weight calculations, changing outside air temperature values, and displaying misleading information on cockpit screens.