The vulnerability is in a chip used in the plane's computer systems, which could be taken over via the internet, allowing malicious attackers a way 'past' computer protection systems, reports the Guardian.

Sergei Skorobogatov of Cambridge University and Chris Woods of Quo Vadis Labs, have now alerted governments around the world and offered information on how the chip could be hacked.

The 'back door' has been discovered in a chip made by Actel, a US manufacturer, which is used in both military systems and aircraft such as the Boeing 787.

Mr Woods explained to the Guardian: 'An attacker can disable all the security on the chip, reprogram cryptographic and access keys … or permanently damage the device.'

'Back doors' can often be inserted into computer systems by their programmers so that they can gain quick access if needed, however in this type of chip the 'easy access' leaves it exposed to attack.

Actel has claimed that its chips are incredibly secure as there is no way for configuration data contained on them to be read by the outside world, but the 'back door' undermines that claim.

Although the built-in access is not malicious in itself, it becomes a vulnerability now that it is known. And due to it being hardwired into the chip, it is almost impossible to eradicate.

The two researchers will be presenting the paper on their findings at a conference in Brussels in September.