US Authorities Investigate Fake Wi-Fi Network on Delta Flight
The official network was disabled for approximately 30 minutes after pilots reported that a passenger had created a network impersonating the aircraft's system. Delta clarified: "Flight safety was not in question, and no operational system of the aircraft was affected."
US authorities are investigating a cyber incident on Delta flight 591 from Las Vegas to Atlanta on August 10, after a fake Wi-Fi network appeared briefly during the flight. According to Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant, there was no breach of the aircraft's systems or the flight's internet network, and the aircraft's operating systems remained intact.
"Flight safety was not in question, and no operational system of the aircraft was affected," Durrant told TechCrunch. "We are fully investigating to gather all the facts, and this will take time. We will cooperate with federal law enforcement and aviation regulators to ensure the incident is thoroughly investigated."
The incident occurred on a Boeing 757 aircraft en route to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The flight crew disabled the aircraft's Wi-Fi capabilities for about 30 minutes, and CBS reported that no emergency was declared to air traffic control. According to TechCrunch, after the crew noticed the fake network, the pilots sent two messages to air traffic control stating that a passenger had created a fake Wi-Fi network intended to impersonate the aircraft's legitimate wireless system.
The passenger's identity has not been released, and it remains unclear what they were attempting to do. The pilots noted that some passengers had arrived from cyber conferences held in Las Vegas the previous week. Delta mentioned that DEF CON 34, a major cyber conference, was held in the city over the weekend.
Federal authorities have previously warned about incidents of this type, known as an evil twin attack: attackers create a fake access point to a public network, usually with a stronger signal than the legitimate network. When a user connects to it, attackers can use tools to read their data. A malicious network can be set up using commercial tools like Wi-Fi Pineapple, a hardware device designed for spoofing networks and used by professional security testers as well as hobbyists.
