Tue, Apr 21, 2015
Twitter Post Got Security Company CEO Stopped At The Gate
If you had any questions about the whether to post that airplane security-related joke on Twitter, consider the story of Chris Roberts, founder of One World Labs.
Roberts' company does research on security risks a with a goal of finding them before they become an issue. He recently gave media interviews concerning a potential airline security issue involving onboard Wi-Fi. He told CNN that on at least a dozen occasions, he had been able to connect a box under his seat to the onboard Wi-Fi and view data about the aircraft's engines and other systems.
The Associated Press reports that he told Fox News that he could "theorize on how to turn the engines off at 35,000 feet and not have any of those damn flashing lights go off in the cockpit."
Last Wednesday, Roberts had been removed from a United flight by the FBI on arrival in Syracuse, NY, after he "joked" on Twitter that he could get the oxygen masks to deploy on the plane. That remark got his laptop and other electronics seized by authorities, though his attorney says Roberts has not seen a warrant.
On Saturday, while attempting to board another United flight to California, he was stopped at the gate and told he could not board the aircraft.
A spokesman for the airline told the AP that the move was precautionary after the Twitter post on Wednesday, and added the airline is "confident" that the airplane's systems could not be accessed in the way described by the researcher.
Roberts eventually flew to California on Southwest, according to the report.
(Image from file)
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