TEL AVIV, ISRAEL- When considering the threat of aircraft hijacking, most people think of the 1970s, when armed people stormed the cockpit and demanded a free ride to Cuba. Or perhaps, the far-fetched thriller Air Force One, where armed terrorists disguised as journalists hijacked the world’s most recognizable aircraft. In a post-9/11 world, such scenarios are unlikely.
Sadly, terrorism is a way of life, whether it takes the form of school shootings, attacks on concerts by Islamic fanatics, or IEDs detonated on the streets of Tel Aviv. Sadly, no country is immune to such fanaticism, as the United States learned in the post-George Floyd summer of 2020. As terrorists become more sophisticated, aviation interests need to keep up.
In the case of Israel, much can be learned from a country that deals with terrorism regularly, despite apparent failures on October 7, 2023, when a surprise blitzkrieg from Hamas terrorists killed over 1,200 innocent people and resulted in over 250 kidnappings.
Israel’s national airline, El Al, has one of the most robust security operations in the aviation industry, even better than the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which won’t allow a six ounce bottle of water or any liquids exceeding 3.4 ounces on American aircraft, or which makes two year olds remove their shoes.
According to American Thinker, El Al’s security program was designed by a team of experts, including a former Israeli Defense Force (IDF) officer, Arik Arad. Arad was so good at his job that he also designed security protocols for Israel’s shopping malls. As a result, there has never been a successful terrorist attack on either.
In Israel, security personnel rely not only on observation but have also developed a talent for spotting when something doesn’t feel right. While in the United States, this might be considered “profiling,” it makes sense that when terrorist attacks have a common denominator, security personnel focus on that attribute.
The TSA tends to have a routine of randomly selecting every fifth person, for example, regardless of whether that person is…a 20-something man, a five-year-old child, or an 82-year-old grandmother. What is bizarre is that a grandmother may be searched in favor of a male who fits the profile of your typical suicide bomber.
In Israel, they utilize a “profile method,” allowing for systematic analysis and understanding of unique characteristics and behaviors. It involves constant observation. In the United States, security looks for finding the instrument of the terrorist, while Israel focuses on finding the bad guy.
In Israel, a security agent would focus on, for example, two passengers meeting at an airport together and splitting up into two different security lanes for the same flight, or an exceedingly nervous passenger. And it doesn’t end there; dozens of factors come into play. Finally, it ends with a security officer asking detailed questions. In the latter case, the agent was successful in identifying a passenger unaware that there was a bomb in her luggage.
Thirty-nine years ago, at London’s Heathrow Airport, an Irish woman named Ann-Marie Murphy, a hotel chambermaid working in London, was befriended by a Jordanian named Nezar Hindawi, who, unknown to Murphy, was a terrorist. He began an affair with her, then disappeared when she became pregnant. Several months later, he returned, claiming he wanted to marry her in the Holy Land.
Hindawi told Murphy she needed to catch the next El Al flight to his home country. Hindawi handed Murphy a small bag and assured her that she did not need to pack, that his family would have everything she needed when she arrived. He told her he could not make the flight, but would catch the next one. He dropped Murphy off at Heathrow.
British security allowed Murphy through with no problems. For El Al, however, they provide additional security above what the host nation’s airport does. In Murphy’s case, her carry-on passed through X-ray. When El Al’s security questioned her, she answered two questions that caught his attention, and he decided to investigate further.
After questioning Murphy, the agent decided something was off, so he opened her bag. Inside, he found 3.3 pounds of Semtex, a pliable, odorless explosive that had never before been used in such a manner.
He also found a hand-held calculator with a tiny explosive device inside and armed with an altimeter fuse. Once the plane reached a certain altitude, the altimeter would trigger the smaller explosion, incapable of destroying the plane. It would, however, trigger a sympathetic explosion of the Semtex, destroying the aircraft.
How was the security agent triggered? Murphy, visibly pregnant and who told him she would be gone for weeks, was only carrying a small carry-on bag, which led him to decide a more thorough search was warranted, saving 375 lives.
Arad is a subject matter expert on hijackings and was called to testify before Congress in 1989 over the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Instead of retiring several years ago, he launched a company addressing what he believes will be the next aviation security threat–”hijacking by hacking.”
Arad’s company provides cybersecurity solutions to address what he believes is a growing threat. Any aircraft is susceptible to being hacked by overriding pilot control, especially with technology now a major part of commercial aviation. Arad’s company, Cyviation, has partnered with a leading defense and aviation production company, Israel Aerospace Industries, to identify cybersecurity “holes” within an aircraft’s structure where terrorist hackers may try to gain control.
Cyviation’s core technology allows proactive intelligence and monitoring solutions that identify and mitigate threats in real time. This is accomplished by protecting aircraft communication systems and avionics networks and helping the aviation industry prepare for and comply with emerging aviation cybersecurity regulations.
The system enhances aviation safety and operational resilience by preventing cyber disruptions. As such, it is the only company worldwide able to provide commercial and business aircraft with such protections.
As cyber hackers become more sophisticated, being ahead of the curve on addressing hijacking by hacking is a prudent business decision.
