Recently a cybersecurity expert was pulled off a United Airlines flight after tweeting that he had the ability to access the plane’s systems, such as control of the oxygen masks on board.

The expert, Chris Roberts, was then taken into FBI custody and questioned for hours.

While Roberts says he was not attempting to harm anyone on board, the event drew attention worldwide to possible gaps in security onboard commercial flights with in-flight Wi-Fi.

According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, there is more connectivity in the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 between cockpit and cabin Wi-Fi systems than in previous models.

Aaron Rinehart, CEO of cybersecurity company Testbed Inc. and a former security expert for the U.S. Transportation Security Administration, says that this is a step backward in terms of security and safety.

Rinehart says cockpit systems should be air gapped, meaning that the system is physically isolated from all unsecured computer networks, including the in-flight entertainment system onboard. This disconnects the cockpit from outside systems to prevent hackers from accessing it.

“It doesn’t seem to me either logical or rational to combine in-flight Wi-Fi with the avionics systems,” Rinehart said.

Why anyone would combine these systems and take the extra risk isn’t clear.

“My guess would be they want to combine the signal and maybe just either save money or save the amount of power because all those antennas require power,” he said.

“If there’s multiple antennas [putting off] separate signals, it may require more power for that… which to me represents a considerable threat.”

In its report, the GAO found that firewalls are currently protecting avionics systems on planes from hacks, but, like any software, firewalls don’t always prevent attacks on networked systems.

Rinehart says the systems should remain completely separate to avoid problems, including downed airliners.

What do the airlines say about this, especially United, since they’re the ones that pulled Roberts off the plane?

Although the argument can be made that it is difficult to hack into a plane’s avionics system and launch such an attack, experts say the threat of malicious activities grows along with increased connectivity.

For example, Macworld recently reported that American Airlines’ fleet of Boeing 737 aircrafts experienced a glitch in an iPad app used by pilots in their cockpits. This caused all of the fleet’s iPads to go dead at once and leaving passengers delayed for hours at airports across the country.

According to Rinehart, if it were decided that all systems needed to be air gapped, planes can be retrofitted with these systems, but it is easier to design with air gapping in mind in the beginning while factoring in the cost.

“We’ve already had enough [problems] in the past two years,” he said. “Our regulatory authorities don’t need to contribute to that.”

Security threat interrupts White House press briefing from Medill Washington on Vimeo.

The evacuation came in the middle of a televised press briefing by Press Secretary Josh Earnest. The North Lawn of the White House was also cleared.

PHOTOS, STORIFY: Bomb threat sparks evacuation of White House press briefing 

Secret Service officials said the threat was called in at 1:53 p.m. About 30 minutes after the call journalists were allowed back into the White House. Secret Service officers on the scene said an all-clear had been issued.

“As a precaution, the White House Briefing Room was evacuated,” Secret Service spokeswoman Nicole B. Mainor said in a statement. “The evacuation was limited to the White House Press Briefing Room and did not affect any other sections of the White House.”

Shortly after the evacuation Earnest wrote on Twitter that the briefing would resume shortly after the room was cleared. “Hopefully won’t be long,” he wrote.

Ritchie and Borley meet for the first time

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the early morning of Oct. 12, 1944, Navy pilot Ensign Clarence Borley had just shot down his fifth Japanese aircraft over the island of Formosa — present-day Taiwan — when anti-aircraft fire forced him to ditch his F6F Hellcat into the Pacific. Clinging onto his life raft for five days, he was blown by a typhoon 75 miles out to sea before a submarine picked him up.

Eight thousand miles away and nearly 70 years later, Borley and 76 other surviving flying aces were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal — Congress’ highest civilian award — on Wednesday by leaders of the House and Senate in a packed Emancipation Hall on Capitol Hill.

“It’s not just what they did, but how they did it,” said Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio. “It’s a reminder that nothing worth fighting for ever came easy.”

There have been more than 60,000 fighter pilots in American history, yet only 1,447 have earned the distinction of “ace,” meaning a fighter pilot whose skill and valor resulted in the destruction of five or more enemy aircraft.

Yet their numbers are dwindling. On average two of these elite veterans die each month.

The youngest of them, Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard Steven Ritchie, served in Vietnam and is now 72. He is expected to be the last such ace.

In an era of stand-off air-to-air weaponry, the days of grueling dogfights that were the hallmark of 20^th Century aviation warfare are at a close.

From open-cockpit biplanes in World War I to powerful jets over Southeast Asia, these battles were fought by men barely old enough to vote.

“Here are some things you might not expect to hear [from young 20-year-olds]: I cheated death, tore through Hitler’s Luftwaffe like tissue paper, received a Silver Star, a Distinguished Service Cross, two Flying Crosses, and a Purple Heart for good measure,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kent., said.

The ceremony at the Capitol was convened by Seattle’s Museum of Flight, home to the American Fighter Aces Association.

The museum brought together more than 20 volunteer pilots and a fleet of small and mid-size jets to fly more than three dozen of the surviving aces and their families to Washington, D.C.

“All these men had an outsized impact on the air war that they fought in,” AFAA president and fellow ace Air Force Lt. Gen. (ret.) Charles Cleveland said.

“They are people who saved lives and shortened wars; they will never be forgotten.”

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Tensions high on first night of Baltimore curfew from Medill Washington on Vimeo.

Tensions flared as some residents of Baltimore’s Penn North neighborhood begged others to go home before the 10 p.m. curfew took effect.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake begged protesters to be home in time for the curfew.

“We cannot make any major changes that need to be made tonight,” she said over loudspeaker to the crowd.

But the crowd did not leave. Police pushed forward to force the crowd from the intersection, and some protesters responded by throwing bottles. Police fired back with tear gas, pepper spray projectiles and and smoke grenades.

Crowds eventually dispersed as police cleared the streets.

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Elllen Shearer, a Medill journalism professor, said James Foley had a passion for covering conflict zones. “In the end his passion prevailed,” she said. “Jim wasn’t a desk guy.”

James Foley often talked with aspiring journalists at Northwestern University about his experience covering conflict zones, and even after his death he is still inspiring students.

The Northwestern community held a memorial service for Foley Thursday at the Alice Millar Chapel. After Foley graduated from Medill’s master’s program in 2008, he made repeated trips to Chicago to talk with students about what it was like to cover the Middle East and about his capture in Libya in 2011. He even spoke with students via Skype when he was in Syria, Ellen Shearer, a Medill journalism professor, told those who had gathered for the service.

Foley, a 40-year-old freelance journalist, was captured by Islamic State militants while reporting in Syria in November 2012 and held for nearly two years. He was executed in August, an act his captors captured on video and posted online.

“We pray that other young journalists will be inspired by Jim,” said Diane Foley, James’ mother. “They have to care very deeply and be willing to risk their own lives. It’s more dangerous than being in the armed forces.”

Current students in Medill’s master’s program said they were not deterred about reporting overseas by Foley’s death but were inspired to follow in his footsteps.

“If a journalist has the inclination to tell those stories, if you have that in your heart, you’re going to go no matter what,” said Ellen Kobe, a current Medill student, after the service.

Ezra Kaplan, another Medill student, is currently planning a trip to Israel and Palestine. “This has reaffirmed both my motivation and my desire to do the work, to go abroad and tell the stories that need to be told,” he said in an interview. “In his death, the best way I can honor his life is to continue doing the kind of work I want to do and the kind of work he did.”

Adam Banicki, who will also be traveling to Israel and Palestine in December, said Diane Foley’s remarks reinforced why conflict journalism is so important to him. “If anything, it built up my confidence,” he said.

At the memorial, Dick Stolley, a member of Medill’s board of advisors, said it was Foley’s “compulsion to report the truth” that kept him in his career. On Dec. 3 Foley will posthumously receive the Medill Medal for Courage along with Rolling Stone journalist Matthieu Aikins, Stolley announced.

Diane Foley said Foley’s family has established the James W. Foley Legacy Fund to honor the three areas Foley was most passionate about: building resources for American hostages and their families; supporting American journalists in conflict zones; and promoting educational opportunities for urban youth.

Defense attorney Thomas Durkin said Mohammed Hamzah Khan’s parents, who were standing behind him, ask the public to be patient and not judge them based on their attire. “They are Americans,” he said. Beth Lawrence/MEDILL

A Chicago federal judge delayed ruling on whether a 19-year-old Bolingbrook man accused of attempting to join Islamic militants in Syria should be jailed pending a trial. But the effect of her decision was that Mohammed Hamzah Khan will remain in jail until at least Oct. 21.

Magistrate Judge Susan Cox put off her decision to allow more time to consider the prosecution’s request to keep parts of Khan’s case closed to the public because minors are involved. She did not disclose how minors were part of the case.

Cox said she did not receive enough information to make an informed decision by Thursday. She does not like making decisions “on the fly,” Cox added.

Most of the hearing was conducted in the judge’s chambers, out of hearing by reporters. After returning to the courtroom, the judge announced the delay.

Khan’s defense attorney, Thomas Durkin, said he was concerned that any move to close the courtroom during Khan’s trial would set a “dangerous precedent.” He also said his client was more concerned with his rights and the public’s right to view the trial than about going home Thursday.

After the hearing Durkin described Khan as a sincere and dedicated person “who takes his faith very, very seriously.” Durkin said he does not believe the group calling itself the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is a threat to the United States. “So I don’t see how he could be,” he said referring to his client who was picked up Saturday at O’Hare International Airport trying to board a plane to Turkey. A search of his home turned up a three-page letter laying out his intent to join Syrian militants.

Durkin said he did not believe his client had a fighting chance because the case involves terrorism. There is a “two-tiered justice system regarding terrorism,” Durkin said.

Khan is charged with attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations, a violation of the Patriot Act, which was signed by President George W. Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks.

If convicted, Khan could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.