"Feds Fear Air Broadband Terror"

Monday, July 11, 2005

Feds Fear Air Broadband Terror  
By Kevin Poulsen
Wired.com


Federal law enforcement officials, fearful that terrorists will exploit
emerging in-flight broadband services to remotely activate bombs or
coordinate hijackings, are asking regulators for the power to begin
eavesdropping on any passenger's internet use within 10 minutes of obtaining
court authorization. 

In joint comments filed with the FCC last Tuesday, the Justice Department,
the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned that a terrorist
could use on-board internet access to communicate with confederates on other
planes, on the ground or in different sections of the same plane -- all from
the comfort of an aisle seat. 

"There is a short window of opportunity in which action can be taken to
thwart a suicidal terrorist hijacking or remedy other crisis situations on
board an aircraft, and law enforcement needs to maximize its ability to
respond to these potentially lethal situations," the filing reads. 

The Justice Department hopes to do that with an FCC ruling that
satellite-based in-flight broadband services are bound by the 1994
Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, the federal law that
required telephone companies to modify their networks to be wiretap-friendly
for the FBI. 

CALEA was originally passed to preserve the Bureau's ability to eavesdrop on
telephone calls in the digital age. But last year the FBI and Justice
Department persuaded the FCC to interpret the law so it would apply to
internet traffic over cable modems and DSL lines. The FCC has already
expressed the view that in-flight broadband would likely be covered as well.


The Justice Department is asking the commission to require that
air-to-ground internet taps be equipped "forthwith, but in no circumstance
more than 10 minutes" after the FBI requests them. 

The filing comes as the FCC considers implementing a licensing scheme that
would encourage more companies to enter the satellite-based in-flight
broadband market. Currently, only Boeing is licensed to provide such
services. 

Boeing's Connexion system lets passengers plug in to a wired ethernet jack
or connect wirelessly over 802.11b, and is available on select flights on a
handful of international carriers, including Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines
and Korean Air. No U.S. carrier has announced plans to offer the service. 

In addition to seeking the rapid-tap technology, the Justice Department
filing asks the FCC to require carriers to maintain fine-grained control
over their airborne broadband links. This would include the ability to
quickly and automatically identify every internet user by name and seat
number, remotely cut off a passenger's internet access, cut off all
passengers' access without affecting the flight crew's access, or redirect
communications to and from the aircraft in the event of a crisis. 

Officials also expressed concern that terrorists might use in-flight
broadband to remotely trigger a bomb hidden on a plane. They asked the FCC
to keep such services from being accessible from the cargo hull of an
aircraft. 

"The ability to turn on a broadband-enabled communications device located on
board an aircraft ... presents the possibility that either a passenger or
someone on the ground could reliably remotely activate a broadband-enabled
communications device in flight and use that device as an RCIED
(remote-controlled improvised explosive device)," the filing says. 

Forrester Research analyst Brownlee Thomas supports the Justice Department's
proposal, but admits it would raise the barrier of entry for companies
wanting to enter the in-flight broadband market. 

"It does favor the largest players in this space," says Thomas. "I would go
so far as to suggest that I think it is the Justice Department's intention
to ensure that the doors are not open too wide on this, for the requirement
of national security.... That actually makes perfect sense." 

Despite their safety concerns, federal agencies are generally bullish on
airborne broadband, lauding its potential to enhance communications between
the air and the ground during a crisis.


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