Hackers have once again gained entry to the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) computers.

Tom Waters, president of union Local 3290, and an FAA contract attorney, revealed that FAA officials told union leaders that hackers had gained entry to 48 files. Two of them may have provided the bad guys with names and social security numbers of 45,000 employees and retirees. However, another file they got their hands on, which contained medical information, was encrypted.  

This is a second instance of employee data being compromised. Waters said that earlier his union complained to the FAA and the inspector general of the Transportation Department about mailings to employees generated from information that seemed to originate in FAA files. He claims that nothing was done about it. Waters doesn’t have a high opinion of the IT systems people, who, he says, "need to take a long hard look at themselves and their capabilities. This is malpractice in their world." he claims.  
 
This time, the FAA issued a statement that read: "The FAA is moving quickly to prevent any similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information." The organisation also reassured travelers that the compromised server was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system.  

The FAA has been a target several times. In 2002, a hacker known as the Deceptive Duo, in an effort to show that the FAA security was vulnerable and that US safety was at risk, accessed an FAA database that contained details about passenger screenings at some US airports. He obtained screeners’ names and how many passengers they had screened, as well as the number of guns, explosives or chemicals that had been intercepted. He was collared, and in 2004 the hacker pleaded guilty.  

A year ago, the FAA was concerned about jet airliners’ on-board internet, which it feared might be open to cyberattacks also. Boeing commented on the security of its Dreamliner 787, which is pre-wired for passenger internet connections. Computers will also control the jet's flight controls and monitor the aircraft's condition, streaming data back to airline ground stations. Commenting that the company has been aware of these concerns for more than a decade, Chuck Royalty, who heads the Boeing’s computer security for the jet, said "It already has built in extra security." Well, I guess that’s comforting to know. X

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