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Doesn't everyone just love posting a photo of boarding passes as proof that they're on a holiday? If you're thinking of doing the same, here's why you shouldn't.
Brian Krebs, an author and blogger specializing in investigative stories on cybercrime and computer security, explained just how much information an airplane boarding pass contains in its barcode in a report by Yahoo Travel.
Krebs talked about one of his blog readers who became curious about what kind of information he can obtain from a friend who uploaded a photo of his boarding pass on Facebook. The reader took a screenshot of the Lufthansa flight boarding pass and found a website that can decode the data and reveal information about the trip. The information available included the passenger's full name, the frequent flyer number and other sensitive personal information.
The reader who identified himself as Cory said that he was able to obtain the record key of the Luftansa flight the passenger who posted his boarding pass was taking that day. He also added that because of the information used in booking the flight was encoded in the barcode, the record key allowed him to access the entire account of the passenger.
"Not only could I see this one flight, but I could see ANY future flights that were booked to his frequent flyer number from the Star Alliance," Cory said.
Krebs also added that the access the barcode gave will allow Cory to view all future flights tied to that frequent flyer account in the future. This allows Cory to change seats for the ticketed passenger and cancel future flights.
If posting the boarding pass is really unavoidable, travel news blog The Winglet suggests blurring out sensitive information. Once you no longer have the use for the boarding pass, Krebs suggests putting it in shredder rather than just throwing it away as data stored in it can still be accessed.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
