Are we overreacting? Latest air cargo security scare poses threat to in-flight Wi-Fi
Why am I thinking this is a classic example of overreacting, which has become the norm in our modern day culture of “keep them wrapped in a sense of paranoia and fear”. Let’s make it clear: If a bad guy wants to wreck your machine mid-flight, he will definitely find a way to do it and he is probably much more innovative than trying to use a cell phone and in-flight wi-fi to detonate the bomb in the belly of a plane. What if he uses a SatPhone to trigger the device? It may be a bit expensive to procure but it still does the job, right?
Aviation security experts at TSA or any such governmental agency should jump in early and clear the air before this poses a threat to the sprouting wi-fi tech in the planes. Unless it is a serious and credible threat, the airline industry should proceed with the deployment plans. Hope sanity prevails.
It was revealed on 29 October that parcels containing a powdered explosive packed in laser printer cartridges had travelled undetected on aircraft to the UK and to Dubai in the UAE. A cellphone connected to a detonation circuit could have allowed a terrorist to trigger an explosion by calling or texting the phone.
This comes as the aviation industry is gearing up to provide broadband in-flight entertainment systems that feature both cellphone and Wi-Fi connections for passengers. These systems would mean that passengers would no longer need to illicitly use their cellphones when they come into range of ground masts at low altitudes near airports – a potentially dangerous activity that could interfere with the aircraft’s avionics.
Last week’s discoveries cast doubt on the wisdom of in-flight communications, says Roland Alford, managing director of Alford Technologies, an explosives consultancy in Chippenham, Wiltshire, UK. He says he expects the technology to be scrutinised in the security reviews being undertaken by the UK government and US Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the discovery of the printer bombs.
In-flight Wi-Fi “gives a bomber lots of options for contacting a device on an aircraft”, Alford says. Even if ordinary cellphone connections are blocked, it would allow a voice-over-internet connection to reach a handset.
