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Biz founded by Chris 'I hack airplanes' Roberts files for bankruptcy

Meanwhile, new FAA committee to develop cybersecurity protections

One World Labs, the infosec biz founded by Chris Roberts – the security expert famous for allegedly making an airplane move sideways mid-flight without leaving his passenger seat – has filed for bankruptcy protection.

The Wall Street Journal reports One World Labs filed for bankruptcy last week, with debts roughly mounting to $720,000. Roberts left the company last month but still holds a majority shareholding, the paper adds.

Roberts once said he had hacked into aircraft equipment mid-flight more than 15 times since 2011 simply by plugging his laptop into passenger seat entertainment systems. He hit the headlines in April when it was claimed he was able to make a jet climb by sending a command from his PC. Roberts was arrested and questioned by the FBI after tweeting about his escapades.

Aviation officials are yet to verify Roberts' claims, which remain a hot topic for discussion among security researchers as well as raising a much wider debate about aspects of aircraft security.

A US Federal Aviation Administration committee – including representatives of plane makers, pilots, parts suppliers, aviation regulators, and industry officials – has been established to develop comprehensive cybersecurity protections for aircraft.

How closely Roberts' brush with the law is related to One World Labs' financial woes remains unclear.

One World Labs was founded back in 2009. Company executives are said to be in talks with a potential buyer for the security intelligence firm, which brought in revenues of $3 million last year. OWL's bankruptcy filing can be found here (US bankruptcy info site, registration required).

Roberts, who founded OWL and served as its chief information officer prior to his recent departure, confirmed the company's financial problems in a Twitter update. "Notification last night that OWL filed for Chapter 11 ... totally sucks that something we built ended up that way..." he said.

The Denver Business Journal has more on the story here. ®

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