Hacking Legacy IFEC in Old Boeing 747s
Pen Test Partners researchers Alex Lomas and Phil Eveleigh audit legacy In-Flight Entertainment (IFEC) systems decommissioned from retired Boeing 747 aircraft.
Summary
Auditing Retired Commercial Aircraft Hardware
When airlines retire iconic aircraft like the Boeing 747, decommissioned avionics and In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity (IFEC) systems become available for security research.
Hardware Teardown and Windows NT 4 Exploitation
Alex Lomas and Phil Eveleigh dissect legacy IFEC seatback server racks, uncovering vintage Windows NT 4 operating systems and unencrypted maintenance ports.
Evaluating Passenger-to-Avionics Isolation Boundaries
The researchers evaluate physical and logical network separation, verifying that legacy IFEC servers remain strictly air-gapped from safety-critical flight control buses.
Responsible Disclosure and Decommissioning Practices
The presentation emphasizes that even retired aircraft hardware requires coordinated disclosure and proper data sanitation prior to scrap disposal.
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