Martin Broomhead AFC MRAeS, UK managing director of multinational drone security company D-Fend Solutions, gave an exclusive interview to Cyber Intelligence from the showground floor in London’s Olympia conference centre. He outlines the increasingly blurred line between physical security and cybersecurity, the main theme of this year’s International Cyber Expo, which combined with this year’s International Security Expo on the Olympia showground.
Airline security has just entered a new era with the news that on Saturday, cybercriminals hacked the communications network on a commercial flight and tried to divert the plane to a fake destination, putting it in the hands of the gang.
On Sunday, EL AL Israel Airlines confirmed the attack on one of its planes. During the attack, instructions were given to the El Al crew that differed from their set route, alerting them to the possibility that terrorists were planning to crash the plane or that their attackers were planning a kidnapping.
However, despite the nationality of the airline concerned, the motive behind hacking into the airline’s communications is thought not to have been primarily political. Although the attack took place over an area where Iran-backed Houthis are known to be active, it is believed that the hackers are most likely based in Somaliland, which last month signed a controversial territorial agreement with neighboring Ethiopia.
Editorial Team