A 42-year-old Australian man was charged by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) for creating fake Wi-Fi duplicates on domestic flights and airports in Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne.
His strategy, known as the "evil twin" Wi-Fi attack is commonly used for gathering sensitive information from passengers once they connect to the internet.
Australian Allegedly Stole Passenger Details Using 'Evil Twin'
Airline employees have reported suspicious Wi-Fi networks appearing during a flight. The AFP started its investigation last April and arrested the man along with his belongings.
The police discovered a portable wireless access device, a laptop, and a mobile phone, which were allegedly used to conduct the evil twin attacks. The man is now charged with nine alleged cybercrime offenses.
In a press release, the AFP detailed that the suspected free Wi-Fi networks directed victims to a fake webpage and were asked to input their email or social media logins. All information was allegedly saved to the man's devices.
Police Recommends Safety Precaution for All Passengers
An evil twin Wi-Fi attack is a cyberattack that tricks users into connecting to a fake wireless access point. Once connected, the hacker can easily intercept all the data from the user's phone, steal credentials, and install malware.
Detective Inspector Andrea Coleman of AFP Western Command Cybercrime advised the public to be wary of free and public Wi-Fi networks. Any individual should not enter any personal details when connecting to a free network.
The office also recommended avoiding using Wi-Fi hotspots and installing a reputable VPN to ensure that all data are secured and encrypted. Any actions requiring sensitive information, like mobile banking, should not be done using public networks.
The public is also advised to disable Wi-Fi on their device before going out in public to prevent automatically connecting to an unknown free network.
