Boeing Essay

In the late 1990s, The Boeing Company began to design one of its largest projects to date. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner was designed to provide all of the comforts to customers that its predecessors failed at doing. Geared toward advanced technology, Boeing decided to construct a revolutionary jumbo jet, by allowing it’s customer to connect to the planes’ central nervous system for use of an on board entertainment system. As the project moved forward, there began to be concerns about security and integrity of a network that can be accessed by passengers. These concerns were legitimate, especially being involved with a passenger jet. By using a common network for all onboard systems in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the passengers are able to connect

Early in 2008, Boeing increased production efforts in hopes of implementing the aircraft to the commercial fleet later that same year. With the growing concerns and fears of a vulnerable system on board an airliner, the FAA stepped in and halted the introduction of these planes. The FAA required Boeing, with the issuing of “Special Conditions”, to prove that the onboard systems and networks couldn’t be tampered with. The fear was that someone with ill intentions could possibly take control of the system in flight and cause a catastrophic event. If the entertainment system is networked together with the flight systems, this could have provided a path for a passenger to hack into the controls. After the events on 9/11, it was a relevant concern. Kim Zeller wrote in an article, “FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer wrote me in an e-mail yesterday that the fact that the FAA issued a special condition about this does not mean that the Boeing designis vulnerable, just that it has the potential to be vulnerable unless implemented properly, and that Boeing will be required to demonstrate that the system is not vulnerable before the FAA will certify the plane for use.” Zetter, K. (2009, January 8). FAA Responds to Boeing Security Story | WIRED. Retrieved from