Trojan horse suspected of contributing to 2008 Madrid aircrash

Updated Authorities investigating the 2008 Madrid air crash, which resulted in the deaths of 154 people, have discovered that a central computer system used to monitor technical problems in aircraft was infected with Trojan horses.

The tragic crash, which occurred two years ago today, saw Spanair flight 5022 crash just after take off from Madrid-Barajas international airport, on what should have been a routine trip to Gran Canaria. Only 18 people survived the explosion, Spain’s worst air disaster in 25 years.

According to El Pais, an internal report by the airline has revealed that a computer located at the airline’s headquarters in Palma, Mallorca, should have identified three similar technical problems with the airplane, but was suffering from a malware infection.

According…

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the anti-virus industry having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent security analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of computer security, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter at @gcluley, on Mastodon at @[email protected], or drop him an email.