Skip to main content

Pro hacker Chris Roberts banned by United Airlines over tweet

united airlines ready to make the first poop powered passenger flight
TonyV3112/Shutterstock
Making jokes while on a plane doesn’t usually end well. Anyone who’s seen Meet the Parents knows that perfectly well. Apparently, security researcher Chris Roberts forgot about Gaylord Focker’s run-in with the FBI after the famous “Bomb, bomb, bomb,” incident. He was detained and questioned for hours over a tweet he composed that pointed out how insecure the plane’s systems were.

Originally planning to fly from Colorado to San Francisco to attend two security conferences, Roberts was picked up by the FBI once he landed in Syracuse, reports USA Today. He was questioned and barred from flying on United Airlines to his final destination.

On his trip from Denver to Syracuse, Roberts sent out the following tweet:

In this tweet, Roberts, who is the founder of security intelligence firm One World Labs, references his United flight’s onboard communications, though he did not directly refer to compromising the flight’s systems. Authorities caught wind of the tweet and, when Roberts’ flight landed in Syracuse, he was questioned by FBI agents for four hours.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Roberts wasn’t initially told why he was barred from continuing his trip to San Francisco. When questioned by the authorities, Roberts refused to hand over his computing equipment, which was eventually seized. His equipment included an iPad Air, a MacBook Pro, three hard drives, a flash drive, and a few USB sticks, all of which were encrypted. Roberts was allowed to hold on to his phone

“Roberts was told to expect a letter explaining the reasons for not being allowed to travel on United,” said the EFF.

Talking to Forbes, Roberts wasn’t too thrilled about the ordeal. “Feds have known about issues in planes for years, why are they hot now? I’m a researcher, that’s what I do, I don’t go out to harm or hurt, why pick on researchers? If not us, then who will find flaws?” said Roberts.

United spokesperson Rahsaan Johnson told the Associated Press that it was in the “best interest of our customers and crew members that he not be allowed to fly United.” Even though Johnson said the airline was confident its flight control systems could not be compromised in the way Roberts described, United also barred him because he “made comments about having tampered with aircraft equipment, which is a violation of United policy and something customers and crews shouldn’t have to deal with.”

Roberts was able to make his way to San Francisco with a last-minute flight on another airline, though we’re sure this won’t be the end of his run-in with the authorities.

Editors' Recommendations

Williams Pelegrin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…
United Airlines experiences computer glitch, delaying many flights
united airlines delays computer glitch news major glitches halt all nyse trading and ground flights

United Airlines and its passengers suffering at the hands of a computer “systems issue” today, that delayed and grounded more than 60 flights around the world. The exact cause of the computer glitch hasn’t been confirmed, but due to a spate of other computer problems affecting the airline industry recently, there are concerns it may be due to a hack.

The airline tweeted it was aware of the problem and was working to resolve it, before sending another tweet at 3 a.m. ET claiming the problem had been cured, and flights would be returning to normal. United said only a small amount of flights were delayed, in a statement given to The Independent.

Read more
American Airlines drops lawsuit against Gogo over ‘inferior’ in-flight Wi-Fi
computer glitch american airlines christmas plane

Update on February 22, 2016: Gogo airlines announced that American Airlines has dropped its lawsuit.

If you're fed up with lousy in-flight Wi-Fi, you're not the only one. American Airlines is, too.

Read more
Hoverboard bans: America’s three biggest airlines say no to the personal transporter
hoverboard

Airports across the U.S. and beyond could soon find themselves with a growing collection of hoverboards as an increasing number of airlines announce they won't be letting the machine on their planes.

No, it's not a move to prevent hoverboard-owning passengers causing chaos on flights by careering up and down the aisle on their self-balancing scooter. Instead, the airlines consider the boards – or more accurately, their lithium-ion batteries – as a fire hazard.

Read more