US Air Traffic Control Systems under Attack and HackedThroughout this decade, it's been typical for civilian system air traffic computer networks to be hacked multiple times. In fact, according to a recent government report, one particularly devastating assault caused an Alaskan air-traffic data system to be partially shutdown. Regardless, the FAA plans to spend around $20 billion to upgrade its networks over the next decade and a half. Even airport crucial air traffic systems vulnerable to attackMost of the identified FAA hacking involved email systems, internal and external websites, and administrative networks that manage electric power and air-traffic flow. Moreover, recent security examinations have exposed 763 high-risk vulnerabilities that could allow hackers entry from one susceptible network to another. FAA Spokeswoman Laura Brown assures that the hacker assault only affected the local administrative system that supplies weather and flight information to pilots of small, non-commercial-sized aircrafts. Considering the growing trend of hackers attacking FAA network vulnerabilities, his statement may not be far off the mark. Intelligence officials were distressed by the cyber attack because it can potentially be used by terrorists to hamper the function of air-traffic control in various important government installations.
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