Boarding passes with barcodes help to expedite the boarding process, but do you need to be concerned about the data contained in those barcodes? Security expert Brian Krebs says, yes, that barcodes on used boarding passes may reveal more about you than you realize.
One of Krebs’ readers discovered what could be done with boarding pass barcodes when a friend posted an image of a boarding pass on Facebook. He used an online site to decode the information in the barcode and was shocked by what he found.
“Besides his name, frequent flyer number and other [personally identifiable information], I was able to get his record locator (a.k.a. “record key”) for the Lufthansa flight he was taking that day,” the reader said. “I then proceeded to Lufthansa’s website and using his last name (which was encoded in the barcode) and the record locator was able to get access to his entire account. 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.”
Some dispute the idea that the barcode information could be used to access someone’s account. An article on Fusion.com says that they checked boarding passes from many airlines and the only information they found in barcodes that wasn’t also printed on the boarding passes was the flier’s full frequent flier number.
The danger, though, is that typically the frequent flier number and a PIN are all that is needed to access a frequent flier account. The PIN can often be obtained with the answer to a question (such as mother’s maiden name) that can easily be obtained via social media.
With the PIN, it may be possible not only to access someone’s airline account and see information about all of their flights, but also to change seat assignments or even cancel reservations or change the flier’s PIN.
So what should you do? A printed boarding pass may or may not contain information that will allow someone else to access your frequent flier account. To be of the safe side, you should not leave your boarding passes lying around and, ideally, you should shred them. Another possibility is not printing a boarding pass in the first place, and displaying the boarding pass on your phone or tablet.ireless on the road? Carry important papers with you? You could be putting yourself at risk for identity theft while traveling. Learn how to protect yourself.
