Hackers from DEF CON jammed Wi-Fi on Delta flight: airline probes rogue network

Delta Air Lines is investigating the appearance of an unauthorized Wi-Fi network aboard Flight 591, which traveled from Las Vegas to Atlanta carrying passengers who had attended the DEF CON 34 hacking conference. Reports indicate that some of these passengers carried out a deauthentication attack, disconnecting others from the aircraft's legitimate network.

The company told BleepingComputer that the incident occurred the day before and did not affect passenger safety or aircraft operating systems. A Delta spokesperson said the carrier would cooperate with federal law enforcement and aviation regulators to ensure a thorough investigation. Initial findings showed that a rogue access point, not operated or supplied by Delta, was present onboard for a short period. The cabin crew noticed it and disabled the aircraft's Wi-Fi for nearly 30 minutes.

According to reports, passengers returning from the hacking conference used a deauthentication attack. In this method, devices connected to a Wi-Fi network receive forged packets pretending to be from the legitimate access point, instructing them to disconnect. An attacker observes wireless traffic to identify the access point's MAC address, then sends forged deauthentication frames to connected clients. Repeated transmission of such frames keeps devices disconnected, causing a denial-of-service condition. Protected Management Frames (PMF) can mitigate this type of spoofed management-frame attack.

Typically, such attacks are used to force victims to reconnect to a rogue access point (evil twin) to intercept traffic or redirect them to malicious pages. According to aircraft technician Turbine Traveller, the crew of Flight 591 reported via the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) that passengers who had attended a cyber conference in Las Vegas managed to jam the Wi-Fi and broadcast a network named "Delta WiFi Fast." The message noted that a group of passengers from the conference had blocked the Wi-Fi and created their own network.

The incident has drawn attention from aviation authorities, as unauthorized wireless devices onboard can potentially interfere with communication systems, although Delta assured that no safety threat occurred in this case. The investigation is ongoing.