How secure are we using embedded systems?

Virus hits Computer Systems on Airplanes. The US Airforce has reported that a computer virus has infected the cockpits of America’s Predator and Reaper drones, logging pilots’ every keystroke as they remotely fly missions.

The virus, first detected by the military’s Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. Nor have there been any confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. But the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech’s computers, network security specialists say. And the infection underscores the ongoing security risks in what has become the U.S. military’s most important weapons system.

Read more at https://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/10/virus-hits-drone-fleet/

In a statement — the military’s first official, on-the-record acknowledgement of the virus — the Air Force insisted that the malware was “more of a nuisance than an operational threat.” The ability of drone pilots to remotely fly the aircraft from Creech Air Force Base in Nevada “remained secure throughout the incident.”

But in a world that is increasingly relying on machines to power and navigation transportation such as cars, trains and Airplanes, imagine the risk if those systems were to be affected by viruses. A lot of these systems use embedded systems which nowadays are getting more advanced with higher computing , and till now, it seems, security experts have largely ignored the threat of viruses or malware affecting these systems. Embedded systems are subject to the same security threats as conventional computing devices, which means physical security, code threats, malwares, virus attacks are as much a threat as they are to other conventional devices. Often security in embedded systems is considered to be a encryption, but there is now a realisation that security in these devices is much more than that. New security standards must emerge for embedded systems.

Imagine travelling in an aircraft at 40000 ft and the pilot announcing ” We have a virus attack on one of our systems, and hence would need to shut down. Sorry for the inconvenience”.

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