Aircraft, Train, Spaceship Or Any Digital Space - How To Limit Hacker’s Unlimited Access?

Today it is a big question how to keep the pace of technological advancement as worldwide nations and states which are reliant on it for economic growth and development are now open to vital threats from hackers.

Introduce of digital coding has redefined this 21^st century modern generation has empowered enhanced communication through introduce of virtual technology. Be it flight, water vessel, train, defence, commercial, traffic and other network systems that are digitally dependant can be regulated by intruders by breaking into its coding system with their innovative hi-end code processing.

What happens when at the main power station a major fault occurs? The entire area engulfs in darkness and brings the operation to a stall, creating a paralytic scenario. Similarly when an organization’s main server encounters cyber attack even the digitally operated entire network system gets malfunctioned. Online intruders have the ability to transmit codes that can crash the entire digital process and debar users from accessing their system. To resume back the server into full operation and revive the lost files the ethical hackers intercepts the hackers’ codes and filters out the malware.

Indian army intelligence department has a hold of expert ethical hackers to secure their information so that intruders cannot break into its systems to swipe out their valuable data. It has become vital for defence systems in any sectors to ape like hackers to find key solution to overcome the threat of losing and fabrication of the original files stored in electronic devices.

India’s top ethical hacking institute Appin International Technology lab’s Guwahati extension Head, Biren Bora informed, “Ethical hacking has become a norm in many domains especially where challenges of malicious attack is intense. Prior five years back malicious attack or hacking processes have become multiple times challenging where previously regulated online security system is not potent enough to defend from intruder’s penetration. We have to edge our coding process to safeguard information and retrieve back lost files to ensure curtail of repetitive attack.”

“Sometimes it is important to think like criminals without becoming a criminal to root out their evil plot. Similarly malicious attack is a virus plot of hackers to lure online users to its trap swipe out passwords and every hidden detail in the system before bringing it to a crash. Even like in any crime branch where an investigators have to change his mindset as per to a thief’s mode to speculate and plan how next attempt he’s gonna to make and prepare the team to net him into their hand. Similarly ethical hackers’ job is to track and trap hackers’ attempt with sophisticated tools to keep the nerve network centres of a body or area in an operational mode without any fear of malicious threat,” evaluated how ethical hackers unlike hackers are abided by laws, Biren Bora.

“Be it ART (air route traffic), rail signalling system, traffic signal system, defence war crafts, water vessel and ships’ signal system including space signal programming are easily susceptible to hackers highly creative language codes as through its implementation they can r even e-program routes with change in settings,” marked Appin head Biren Bora about hackers unlimited possibilities.

Playing with traffic signal lights is also easy with just a laptop connected with wireless network to change operation at the same gigahertz frequency level.US top investigation group has ascertained that a plane could be regulated after hacking its system. In May, 2015 United Airlines flight’s manufacturer alleged that Chris Roberts was successful in hacking the in-flight entertainment system mode to change its settings.

In Assam the sophisticated Russian built twinjet multirole air superior fighter Sukhoi Su-30MKI under India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited licence had lost its radar signal and communication after one hour departure from Tezpur base before crashing into the dense forest of Arunachal Pradesh border area. Even after the recovery of the black box things are not divulged on loss of signals by the crew members. It is the first signal loss crash case of Su-30MKI’s in India out of seven cases. Still the Su-30MKI tragedy is unknown but hackers can change the plane setting of this top speed fighter plane of 2,100 km/h with Saturn AL-31 engine and diversify its course.

In London as reported that train signals could be hacked to cause crash which even Biren from Appin, Guwahati asserted, “Through internet access points a person with sophisticated device could program wrong signal and bring a train to a halt or divert it.” In a place like UK a rail network survey report reveals that its control system is hacked annually four times by cyber miscreants.

In Assam earlier this year the new BJP lead government has initiated recruitment of ethical hacking experts to make cyber system potent against rising crimes but results are not yet feasible. But according to K.K.Baishya, Additional SP from CID, Cyber Cell unit, Guwahati the proposed forensic cyber lab by the government is yet not completed. Assam police department is quite positive that personnel will be empowered hi-technology access to uproot growing cyber crime threats inside and outside the state. Accountability of loss due to cyber crime in the state is estimated to be huge which investigation group yet to surface.

Recently another woe to ethical hacking reliability has occurred with arrest of Wannacry hero Marcus Hutchins a young self security researcher, US by FBI on accusation of using malware for illegal hacking process. It is a big lesson that before hiring such experts it is important to check his background whether he is a reliable and trained professional under recognized institute for legal measure. Hiring just anyone without any reliability into ethical hacking to restore a hacked system can be a fatal blow to the unit. 

NEIC Special Analytic Report : Sumi