Delta Investigates Fake Wi-Fi Network Reported on Flight

Delta Air Lines is investigating an incident involving an unidentified passenger who allegedly created a fake Wi-Fi network aboard a flight from Las Vegas to Atlanta on Monday.

The incident prompted the flight’s pilots to notify air traffic control after they discovered that someone onboard had reportedly created a wireless network designed to imitate the aircraft’s legitimate Wi-Fi service.

Delta said the incident did not affect the safety of the flight or the aircraft’s operating systems.

“[The] safety of flight was never in question and no aircraft operating systems were affected,” Delta spokesperson Morgan Durrant told TechCrunch. The airline also said its actual in-flight network was not compromised.

The crew temporarily disabled the plane’s legitimate Wi-Fi network for about 30 minutes after becoming aware of the suspected fake network.

During the flight, the pilots sent two messages to air traffic control describing what had happened. According to the pilots, a passenger had “created a scam Wi-Fi” intended to impersonate the aircraft’s real wireless network.

The crew said they did not have additional details about who created the network or what they were attempting to do. However, the pilots noted that some passengers on the flight had attended cybersecurity conferences in Las Vegas the previous week.

It remains unclear whether the fake network was used to collect information from passengers or for another purpose. Creating a fraudulent wireless network is relatively easy with commercially available equipment. One example is the Wi-Fi Pineapple, a device designed to spoof legitimate wireless networks.

Such devices can be used by professional security researchers and penetration testers to evaluate the security of corporate networks. They are also available to hobbyists interested in learning about cybersecurity and hacking techniques.

Delta said it is continuing to investigate the incident and expects the process to take time as it works to establish exactly what happened.

“We are fully investigating to gather a complete set of facts, which will take time. We will partner with federal law enforcement and aviation regulators to ensure the incident is thoroughly investigated,” Durrant said.

Authorities have not yet provided additional details. The Atlanta Police Department referred questions about the incident to federal authorities.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Steve Kulm said the agency had not received a report about the incident. The FBI also did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

For now, there is no indication that the aircraft itself was placed at risk or that its operating systems were affected. The investigation is expected to determine how the unauthorized network was created, whether anyone connected to it, and what the passenger or passengers may have intended to accomplish.

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