Jun 5, 2009 11:50 pm US/Eastern
Don't Be A Victim: Computer Hacking At 35,000 Feet
Expert Shows CBS 2 HD Just How Easy It Is To Steal Passengers' Personal Information Off Airline WiFi
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Every day thousands of us take flight and more and more of us are packing a laptop or a cell phone to go online while cruising at 600 mph.
But CBS 2 HD takes a closer look at just how secure your data is when you take flight.
I-Phones, BlackBerrys, the Internet ...we are a nation addicted to our constant connectivity. And air travel is now part of that virtual world -- with half a dozen airlines providing WiFi access at 35,000 feet.
But at what cost?
"It exposes you to a really, really high level of risk," anti-hacking expert Adriel Desautels said.
DeSautels is sounding the alarm over the high risk of in-flight hacking.
"People get hacked like this all the time," DeSautels said.
"I probably wouldn't work on anything except personal browsing unless encryption was present," said Ed Sussman of Greenwich Village.
But even surfing the Internet can put you at risk, Desautels said.
Here's how: a fellow passenger on board can run free software to spy on the open links planes are using--just like the ones we easily found while searching for WiFi spots in the CBS 2 HD newsroom. Then someone looking to steal can, "inject malware and infect your computer system so when you do use your computer to do something sensitive it can collect the info then," DeSautels said.
Meaning, when you're back on the ground a virus can launch, collecting sensitive credit card, banking info or even infecting the company's computers once you get back to work, grabbing proprietary business info to sell.
And if you think you can protect yourself with a firewall and the latest anti-virus software installed, forget it. The only way to truly protect yourself is to keep that laptop closed.
To prevent your computer from being hacked anywhere have up to date anti-virus software installed, only connect to WPA2 secured WiFi spots and only use them if password protected.
Otherwise …
"You can record usernames, passwords. You can probably even read some of the e-mail being sent back and forth in clear text," DeSautels said.
Information no one wants to share with a stranger.
Desautels' anti-hacking company is
Netragard.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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