Is missing Malaysian jet the world's first CYBER HIJACK? Chilling new theory claims hackers could use a mobile phone to take over the controls

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Anti-terror expert said plane's direction could be changed by radio signals
Speed and altitude could also be changed from device using 'codes'
Possibility that it could be made to land using remote control
Pilot's friends said he had always been a 'gadget geek' at school

PUBLISHED: 05:55 EST, 16 March 2014 | UPDATED: 13:37 EST, 16 March 2014

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A chilling theory suggests the missing Malaysian Airlines plane could have been hijacked using a mobile phone or USB stick.

An anti-terror expert believes the speed, altitude and direction of the aircraft could have been changed, simply by sending radio signals from a small remote device.

A framework of 'codes' created by cyber terrorists would also be able to get into the plane's in-flight entertainment system and override the security software.

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Probe: Police in Malaysia have searched the home of pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah (left) and Fariq Abdul Hamid after officials confirmed the plane was taken over by a 'deliberate act'

It is also believed, once the systems have been successfully hacked, the plane could be landed by remote control.

The theory has emerged as the search for flight MH370 continues to grow, with 25 countries now involved in the rescue effort.

Yesterday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed the plane's disappearance was the result of a 'deliberate act' and could have flown as far as Kazakstan.

Dr Sally Leivesley, a former Home Office official, said: 'It might well be the world’s first cyber hijack.'

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Dr Sally Leivesley, a former Home Office official, said: 'It might well be the world¿s first cyber hijack'

Dr Leivesley, who now prepares businesses and governments for potential terrorist attacks, told the Sunday Express: 'There appears to be an element of planning from someone with a very sophisticated systems engineering understanding,'

'This is a very early version of what I would call a smart plane, a fly-by-wire aircraft controlled by electronic signals.

She added that once the plane is air-side, you can insert a set of commands and codes which can begin a new set of processes.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the plane could have travelled, undetected, for a further seven hours

Malaysia says search now involves 25 countries

Friends of Capt Zaharie Ahmad Shah, whose home was searched by police yesterday, said he was a 'gadget geek' while at school.

They described the 53-year-old as someone who would 'never compromise his passenger's safety', the Malaysian Star reported.

A flight simulator, which was taken from his luxury house in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur, has been dismantled and is being examined by investigators.

Police also searched the home of co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, who lives in the same upmarket district.

A journalist films the home of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid in Shah Alam, near Kuala Lumpur

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Police sources have confirmed that Shah was a vocal political activist – and fear that the court decision left him profoundly upset. It was against this background that, seven hours later, he took control of a Boeing 777-200 bound for Beijing and carrying 238 passengers and crew.

It is not yet clear where the plane was taken, however Mr Razak said the most recent satellite data suggests the plane could have been making for one of two possible flight corridors.

The search, involving 43 ships and 58 aircraft from 15 countries, switched from the South China Sea to the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.

Satellite data has shown that after losing contact with air traffic controllers, the plane could have kept flying as far north as Kazakhstan in Central Asia or deep into the southern Indian Ocean.

It has left authorities desperate to narrow down a search area now stretching across 11 nations and one of the most remote oceans in the world.

'The search was already a highly complex, multinational effort. It has now become even more difficult,' Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference Sunday.

'It is our hope with the new information, parties that can come forward and narrow the search to an area that is more feasible,' he said, adding that the search effort now includes 25 countries.

'The search area has been significantly expanded.

And the nature of the search has changed. From focusing mainly on shallow seas, we are now looking at large tracts of land, crossing 11 countries, as well as deep and remote oceans,' Hishammuddin said.

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The rescue operation is now encompassing 25 countries and has been expanded to cover both land mass and sea

The final picture: The missing jet is pictured here in February this year above Polish airspace

FROM TERRORISTS TO TINTIN... THE WORLDWIDE CONSPIRACIES THEORIES

The Tin Tin theory

The internet has been abuzz with conspiracy theories about flight MH370’s disappearance, from terrorists to Tintin, some vaguely plausible, others simply ridiculous...

THE PLAUSIBLE

Flying bomb: According to this theory, the plane has been taken to Vietnam, where it is waiting to be used as a weapon in a 9/11 style attack.
Passengers alive: Because some relatives of passengers have heard ringing tones on their loved ones’ mobiles, rather than being put straight through to voicemail, they believe it is evidence they were still alive. In fact, not all such calls do go straight to voicemail, especially if the battery is also destroyed.

THE LUDICROUS

Alien involvement: Cyber posters looking on flight mapping website Flightradar24 spotted one object (identified as a Korean airliner) which appears to streak across the screen at an incredible speed around the time of MH370’s disappearance. A glitch on the website, said Flightradar.
Silicon connection: With an IBM executive and 20 members of a Texan IT company aboard, some have concluded a Chinese kidnap plot is afoot, with a transfer on to a ‘black site’ for interrogation.

...AND NOT FORGETTING THE HERGE HYPOTHESIS!

Tintin connection: In his comic book Flight 714, published in 1968, Belgian cartoonist Hergé penned a plot which resembles some aspects of the Malaysian mystery.

In the plot, set in the Far East, Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus are offered a lift in a millionaire’s private jet. As event unfold (panel 1 above), the aircraft is hijacked by the pilots and brought to a deserted volcanic island; (2) the jet manages to make a rough landing on a makeshift roll-out runway; and (3) gunmen surround the plane and Tintin’s dog Snowy makes a run for it.

After several close shaves – and even a meeting with aliens – the friends finally make it safely on to Flight 714 and to their original destination, Sydney.

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thomas, watford, 9 hours ago

What a well researched article, they would use "codes" to hijack the plane. Brilliant

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Nickfr2014, Dark side of the Moon, France, 9 hours ago

And pigs can also fly using jet packs!

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IQ of one, Southsea, 9 hours ago

If somebody somewhere does know where the passengers and crew are, alive or not, regardless of how the plane was taken over or whatever, they should let the relatives know.

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M52, Marlow, United Kingdom, 9 hours ago

I do hope that Dr Leivesley is not being accurately quoted. I'd have thought this DM postulation unlikely. I haven't flown the B777 but doubt that the glass aircraft I HAVE flown, B747-400, B757 and B767 could be directed as suggested without the pilots noticing.