Cybersecurity company IOActive said the satellite communications ( SATCOM ) used by airplanes , ships and military units had vulnerabilities that could be hacked by anyone on the internet . In general there’s no easy way to beam a remote upgrade to them; in some cases the only upgrade is a wholesale replacement. They could not affect an airplane ’s communications systems , but as well as modifying or disabling SATCOM , the hackers could reveal the location of military units , said IOActive head Ruben Santamarta . The Black Hat security convention also heard that because the systems involved were normally analog , there was no way to remotely control them . Complete automation would be necessary . IOActive said it was working with vendors and government agencies to try to find solutions .
Cybersecurity company IOActive said the satellite communications ( SATCOM ) used by airplanes , ships and military units had vulnerabilities that could be hacked by anyone on the internet . They could not affect an airplane ’s communications systems , but as well as modifying or disabling SATCOM , the hackers could reveal the location of military units , said IOActive head Ruben Santamarta . The Black Hat security convention also heard that because the systems involved were normally analog , there was no way to remotely control them . Complete automation would be necessary . IOActive said it was working with vendors and government agencies to try to find solutions .