Hackers Find Serious Vulnerabilities in Critical F-15 System

Hackers Find Serious Vulnerabilities in Critical F-15 System

F-15 fighter jet (Photo: AP)

A team of hackers given access to a vital flight system used in F-15 fighter jets reportedly confirmed the existence of serious cybersecurity exploits.

Seven “highly vetted” hackers discovered vulnerabilities that, if exploited, could be used to shut down the Trusted Aircraft Information Download Station (TADS) – a device that collects data from video cameras and sensors while jets are in flight, The Washington Post reported.

The hackers even found vulnerabilities that the Air Force had tried but failed to fix after the same group of hackers performed similar tests in November without actually touching the device, the Post added.

“There are millions of lines of code that are in all of our aircraft and if there’s one of them that’s flawed, then a country that can’t build a fighter to shoot down that aircraft might take it out with just a few keystrokes,” said Will Roper, USAF’s top acquisition official.

According to the report, this is a drastic change from previous years, when the military would not allow hackers to try to search for vulnerabilities in extremely sensitive equipment, let alone take a literal whack at it. However, according to Roper, the Air Force believes that unless it allows US hackers to look for vulnerabilities in its aircraft and weapons systems, then the hackers from US adversaries such as Russia, Iran, and North Korea will find and exploit those vulnerabilities first.