Along with the standard spiels about exit rows and seat belts, flight attendents of the future might add this to their repetoires: “The captain has requested that all passengers close their browsers until he regains control of the aircraft.” Recently the AP reported on a possible unintended consequence of offering Internet access to all passengers on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner. Here’s an except: Before Boeing Co.’s new 787 jetliner gets the green light to fly passengers, the aircraft maker will have to prove that offering Internet access in the cabin won’t leave the flight controls vulnerable to hackers and hijackers. Boeing claims it has engineered safeguards to shut out unauthorized users, but some security analysts worry navigation and communications systems could be vulnerable. “The odds of this being perfect are zero,” said Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer at the security services firm BT Counterpane. “It’s possible Boeing can make their connection to the Internet secure. If they do, it will be the first time in mankind anyone’s done that.” But Boeing spokeswoman Lori Gunter said 787′s aviation electronics “are not connected in any way to the Internet.” Boeing has designed the 787 to allow airlines to offer passengers more in-flight…

[From Hacking the Dreamliner?]