Hacking 787s for fun and profit

The Daily Mail asks the question on everyone's mind: "Could a vulnerable computer chip allow hackers to down a Boeing 787?"

No. Thank you for asking.

[You'd need to have a physical connection to the chip's programming pins, since it's almost certainly not intended to be reprogrammed remotely, let alone over any form of wireless connection. There's no information on the purpose of the chips; given the difficulty in arguing high integrity levels for reprogrammable logic, I find it hard to believe that the chip is a single point of failure in a high integrity subsystem. For a more detailed perspective on this report, see Errata Security on the subject.]

If you have that kind of access to a 787, there are far more reliable ways of downing the plane. This may not be reassuring, but it's the world we live in.