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AA136 delayed due to Al Qaeda named WiFi hotspot name

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AA136 delayed due to Al Qaeda named WiFi hotspot name

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Old Oct 27, 2014, 7:59 pm
  #16  
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Originally Posted by TomMM
Simple observation would show thats a false alarm!
You never know!
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 8:02 pm
  #17  
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WIFI Network name delays AA flight - Al-Qaeda Free Terror Network

http://fox40.com/2014/10/27/wifi-con...fornia-flight/
"Al-Qaeda Free Terror Network" seems to be a bad choice to name your network.. However, think of the economic damage this can cause if terrorists simply did this on a bunch of aircraft.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 8:10 pm
  #18  
 
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Too much paranoia. Anyone with a shred of knowledge about SSIDs should realize that this is a prank. Even if the guy was an AQ sympathizer or whatever, what's the big deal? Would the response have been the same if the SSID name was racist or anti-semitist or pedophilistic etc.? Most definitely not!

Plus if AQ was really planning something sinister, do you really think they would broadcast their own SSID name or something?
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 8:21 pm
  #19  
 
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Originally Posted by leonidas
Would the response have been the same if the SSID name was racist or anti-semitist or pedophilistic etc.? Most definitely not!
Being a homophobe doesn't threaten an aircraft, being a terrorist, or terrorist sympathizer does.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 8:25 pm
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by FTcadence
If only that AA passenger had learned something from this WN passenger's experience... http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/south...stupidity.html
I think there is a big difference in these two cases. In the Southwest case "Southwest bomb on board" could be interpreted as a threat.

"Al-Qaeda Free Terror Network" is not a threatening language in anyway. Heck someone could yell "I love Al-Qaeda" and it wouldn't be a threat either.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 8:26 pm
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Frindle
being a ... terrorist sympathizer does.
No, it doesn't. And broadcasting a crazy SSID like "Boogeyman" doesn't make one a terrorist sympathizer.

Originally Posted by leonidas
Too much paranoia. Anyone with a shred of knowledge about SSIDs should realize that this is a prank. Even if the guy was an AQ sympathizer or whatever, what's the big deal? Would the response have been the same if the SSID name was racist or anti-semitist or pedophilistic etc.? Most definitely not!

Plus if AQ was really planning something sinister, do you really think they would broadcast their own SSID name or something?
HA might view AQ as a terrorist organization if it were to reappear.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 8:39 pm
  #22  
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Originally Posted by Frindle
Being a homophobe doesn't threaten an aircraft, being a terrorist, or terrorist sympathizer does.
Really? These "sympathizers" weren't much of a threat.

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/22/us...syria-odyssey/
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 9:03 pm
  #23  
 
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They should have returned to the terminal, deplaned the concerned passenger, and taken off without her.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 9:05 pm
  #24  
 
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So who pays for this stupidity?

Will AA claim it was a security issue? Out of their control? Or will they own up to their over-reaction and then the cascading effect of their operational issues trying to get the plane out?

I was nailed on this flight with a mechanical 6 weeks ago, 20 hours delay. Not many choices once you get delayed past midnight.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 9:08 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by lobo411
They should have returned to the terminal, deplaned the concerned passenger, and taken off without her.
"Him"..but agree.

Flight 136 was preparing to depart when an unidentified male passenger searching for a wireless network discovered the connection. He reported it to the airline and the plane returned to the gate, according to Alvarado.
How many times have you seen something on a plane- seat belt latch not working, seat back not fully reclined or mechanism broken- and you just shut your mouth lest a moron decide this issue is worth delaying your flight...this is one of those times. IMO
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 9:11 pm
  #26  
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What would they have done if they were in mid-flight and noticed that SSID? Declare an emergency and divert?
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 10:29 pm
  #27  
 
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My first reaction to this was to laugh. Dumb stuff like this shouldn't be resulting in over reactions and panics. Clearly the people who got all worried about this didn't step back and take a few seconds to think it through. Issues related to security shouldn't be fear based; they should be threat based.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 10:36 pm
  #28  
 
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I have to wonder if the pax who noticed the SSID is still glad they pointed it out. It's overreactions like this that make many people stay quiet, despite what the "see something, say something" campaigns might want (though in this case the SSID that was noticed was an absolute nothing).
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 10:57 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by FWAAA
So what? I just renamed my hotspot "ISIS/ISIL/IS OUGHTA WIN." Does that make me a security risk?

17 hour delay for this? Even the authorities have said "no laws broken."
I have the ISIS Wallet app installed on my phone. The ISIS Wallet now calls itself Softcard but lots of things are still ISIS.

I recall that Obama kept calling the terrorist organization ISIL. I wonder if the wallet company tried to influence how the terrorists are called in English. Apparently unsuccessfully.
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Old Oct 27, 2014, 11:44 pm
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by mvoight
"Al-Qaeda Free Terror Network" seems to be a bad choice to name your network.. However, think of the economic damage this can cause if terrorists simply did this on a bunch of aircraft.
Why should they bother? As this incident demonstrates, enough of us are terrified 24/7 that they don't need to lift a finger.

We are nearing the day when our entire economy and society will grind to a halt "in an abundance of caution."
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