If you post pictures of your boarding pass on the internet, you might get hurt — and we don’t mean by officemates jealous of your trip.
So suggests tech security guru Brian Krebs, who used his blog Tuesday to explain to potential oversharers just how much information an airplane boarding pass contains — all hidden in “plane” sight in the barcode.
The data, in addition to the flyer’s first and last name, also includes the traveler’s origin and destination airports and frequent flyer number — and all it takes for an enterprising thief to access it is a quick visit to a free online barcode reader.
That frequent flyer number can be used to access someone’s account and could potentially alter the traveler’s itinerary, as Tech Insider’s Tim Stenovec notes.
The news is sure to be a blow to jet-setters all over the internet, as sites like Instagram and Facebook are rife with boastful photos of boarding passes to exotic locales.
Source: huffingtonpost.com