Tag Archive for: airport

3 Things You Should Never Do At An Airport


As enjoyable as it is, travel can be overwhelming, leaving people distracted in unfamiliar environments like airports—and susceptible to scams. With travel spiking and airports crowded, hackers and scam artists have access to more people to prey on than ever these days.

Just in time for peak travel season, Lookout, a cyber-security company, has issued some useful advice on how to prevent yourself from getting scammed. Here, three things you should never do at an airport.

1. Don’t Use Free Wi-Fi (Without Being Careful)

The Risk: Many airports offer free Wi-Fi, but you might end up paying a big cost by blindly using a free public network at an airport—it might be fake. “Attackers have been known to set up fake public networks with convincing names like ‘Free_Airport_Internet,’” says Darnell Sharperson, a spokesperson for Lookout. With these fake networks, hackers can get access to sensitive information, including your emails, messages and login credentials like usernames and passwords.

Protect Yourself: Make sure you join the official airport network. And adjust the settings on your smartphone or computer so that it does not automatically connect to nearby networks.

2. Don’t Use a Public USB Port

The Risk: USB ports make it easy to plug in a cord and charge your device. Bad idea. “Attackers can exploit USB chargers by loading malware onto them that infects your device the second you plug it in,” says Sharperson. Along those same lines, it’s a bad idea to borrow someone else’s USB cord or lend your cord to someone else, since scammers can use cords to extract info or hack into your device.

Protect Yourself: “Always travel with your personal USB cords, and plug your charger directly into an electrical socket (vs USB port) if possible,” says Sharperson. And Never leave your phone or device unattended and only let people you know “borrow” your devices.

3. Don’t Make (The Wrong) Travel Updates

The Risk: Hackers are getting smarter. The…

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Russians Hacked JFK Airport Taxi Dispatch in Line-Skipping Scheme


We at WIRED are winding down for the year and gearing up for what is sure to be an eventful 2023. But 2022 isn’t going down without a fight. 

This week, following a new surge in mayhem at Twitter, we dove into exactly why the public needs real-time flight tracking, even if Elon Musk claims it’s the equivalent of doxing. The crucial transparency this publicly available data provides far outweighs the limited privacy value that censoring would give to the world’s rich and powerful. Unfortunately, Musk’s threats of legal action against the developer of the @ElonJet tracker are having broader chilling effects. 

Meanwhile, Iran’s internet blackouts—a response to widespread civil rights protests—are sabotaging the country’s economy, according to a new assessment from the US Department of State. Due to heavy sanctions on Iranian entities, the exact economic impact of Tehran’s internet blackouts is difficult to calculate. But experts agree it’s not good. 

You may have encountered the Flipper Zero in a recent viral TikTok video—but don’t believe everything you see. WIRED’s Dhruv Mehrotra got his hands on the palm-size device, which packs an array of antennas that allow you to copy and broadcast signals from all types of devices, like RFID chips, NFC cards, and more. We found that while the Flipper Zero can’t, say, make an ATM spill out money, it allows you to do plenty of other things that could get you into trouble. But mostly, it allows you to see the radio-wave-filled world around you like never before.

But that’s not all. Each week, we round up the security stories we didn’t cover in-depth ourselves. Click on the headlines to read the full stories. And stay safe out there. 

Between long hours, medallion costs, and the rise of Uber and Lyft, the life of a New York City cab driver is hard enough. Now it seems that Russian hackers—and a couple of their enterprising partners in Queens—were trying to get their own cut of those drivers’ fares.

According to prosecutors, two Queens men, Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman, worked with Russian hackers to gain access to the taxi dispatch system for New York’s JFK airport. They then allegedly created a group…

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Airport Security Check Will Happen Without Taking Out Laptop, Mobile From Your Bag! Find Out How? – Trak.in


Flight passengers will no longer be required to remove their electronic devices while getting their cabin baggage screened

Airport Security Check Will Happen Without Taking Out Laptop, Mobile From Your Bag! Find Out How?

Latest reports have confirmed that airports will soon employ advanced technology to screen bags without having to remove electronic devices. 

Airports To Use Technology For Screening Cabin Baggage

In India, the lengthy lines of passengers removing their laptops, cell phones, and chargers from their carry-on bags before security screenings may soon be a thing of the past. 

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the agency in charge of overseeing aviation security, is anticipated to release technical norms within a month, which will encourage airports to use cutting-edge equipment to screen bags without removing electronic devices.

As per a senior official of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), “All airports, including Delhi airport, need to improve the machines deployed for screening of cabin bags. They are lagging behind. Technologies such as dual x-ray, computer tomography and neutron beam technology will eliminate the need for passengers to remove laptops and other electronic devices.”

Today, airports all over the nation are experiencing a record number of passengers, which has already surpassed pre-Covid levels. On December 11, there were 4.27 lakh domestic travelers. 

Civil Aviation Minister Confirms Order of Providing More Machines

Security lanes were discovered to be the biggest congestion points at Delhi Airport, which recently experienced scenes of overcrowding resulting in passengers missing their flights. This was primarily because the number of x-ray machines for screening cabin bags was not commensurate with passenger traffic during peak hours.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia intervened to order the airport operator to provide more machines for screening cabin bags after senior government officials accused airports of failing to expand their infrastructure to handle the increasing number of flights and passengers. Although the CISF supplies personnel, airport operators are responsible for providing the necessary security infrastructure.

Newer technologies, like computer tomography, produce 3-D images with…

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Here’s how to reserve your spot in the airport security line with Clear


Ah, the dreaded airport security line — a place where dreams of early gate arrival are crushed and flights are missed. Even though you may have packed your bag like a pro, checked in early, and downloaded your boarding pass, the security line can still trash your savvy travel prep like that bottle of water you accidentally left in your bag. But there’s a way to avoid the hurt, hack the system, and breeze through like a VIP.

Yes, there are apps for checking wait times so you can budget your time appropriately, including an official one from the Transportation Security Administration. But true travel pros know that the best way to expedite the airport security process is to reserve your spot in line.

And it’s free. Here’s how it works.

How to reserve your spot in the security line

Clear, a travel tech company that uses biometric ID verification to expedite the security process, has a tool called Reserve. Get started by going to https://www.clearme.com/reserve on your computer or mobile and select the airport you’re flying from. How far in advance you can reserve a spot depends on the airport, which can be found on the airport’s website.

Reserve powered by Clear is available in 15 airports in North America and Europe: Calgary, Charleston, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Newark, Orlando, Phoenix, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Munich. These cover many of the major travel hubs, but Reserve is planning to roll out in more cities, so don’t worry if none of these are close to you. That will eventually change.

Fill out your flight info

Click on the airport you’re departing from, and you’ll then be directed to a new page where you’ll need to fill out your flight info, including the date of departure, destination, airline, and flight number.

Screen showing form to find your flight info through the Reserve tool


Credit: Clear

Next, select the number of people you’ll be traveling with — up to 10 people.

Then, choose from a list of 15-minute time slots for your reservation. Note: Reserve will hold your spot for 15 minutes before or after your reservation time, so you have some wiggle room if you show up early or you’re running late.

Screen showing travel info through the Reserve tool


Credit: Clear

Fill out your…

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