‘Need to do continual checks’: What flydubai attack teaches us about insider threats

As investigators look into whether an alleged hijacker was radicalised before attacking an Israel-bound flight, the head of a major Australian security firm has weighed in on the factors that prevented disaster.

Flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv narrowly avoided tragedy when its co-pilot allegedly stabbed his colleague mid-air over Saudi Arabia, sending the aircraft into a steep 5.3-kilometre plummet.

The wounded pilot, Smit Machchhar, managed to unlock the cabin door before collapsing.

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Passengers restrained the attacker while a pair of off-duty pilots stepped in to land the plane safely.

The co-pilot, an Omani national who Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination”, was arrested and extradited to the UAE.

Following the incident, Steve Thorpe, chief executive of Australian security firm Omni, emphasised that continuous vetting and pairing protocols are vital to mitigating insider threats.

“You need to do continual checks, ideally annual, just to understand motivations, linkages, activities, and behaviours,” Thorpe told nine.com.au, noting that initial hiring screens are not enough to catch post-employment radicalisation.

Thorpe pointed out that structural safeguards, such as requiring two pilots in the cockpit, drastically reduce the odds of a successful attack.

“The likelihood of two people with the same motivation gaining that kind of access and control is very low, and that’s why this attempt failed,” Thorpe said.

He explained that behavioral analytics can be used to pair crew members with different profiles, so one can disrupt the other.

Retired Qantas captain David Evans said the security of a cockpit has become so airtight that the weakest link now appears to be the person at the helm of the plane.

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“In this astonishing case, the locked cockpit door was more a hindrance than a help,” the 37-year aviation veteran wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald.

“Back when I commanded the mighty 747 and then the A380, out of the hundreds of passengers aboard, it often crossed my mind that they could become a resource if, heaven forbid, any rogue activity endangered my flight.”

However, insiders remain “one of the most dangerous and difficult-to-detect threats” to national security, Thorpe warned.

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) reports state-sponsored insiders cost Australian businesses more than $324.8 million in 2023–24.

Thorpe noted that key sectors like aviation are actively investing in counter-insider measures, including voluntary security clearances that build trust without creating a culture of suspicion.

“The process of having your employees willingly involved mitigates the vast majority of the issues, and people understand why.

“That knowledge dispels fear around everybody being under suspicion all the time because it’s just not the case.”

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It is understood that investigators examining the events of Flight FZ1073 will likely review the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder to determine exactly how the events unfolded.

They will also interview the crew, the off-duty pilots and passengers, and determine how the cockpit door was opened, how the weapon came to be on board, and the pilot’s medical and training history.