--- description: A columnist for a major national newspaper says his computer was hacked in midair by a fellow passenger on a recent trip. title: Reporter Says He Was Hacked on a Flight image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Reporter Says He Was Hacked on a Flight ## Video: Tech Time: How Airplane Wifi Works [Watch (HLS stream): Tech Time: How Airplane Wifi Works](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lfTXbUYM.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2015-10-29. Tech Time: How Airplane Wifi Works_  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 25, 2016 5:00 PM CUT  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 25, 2016 5:00 PM CUT A columnist for a major national newspaper [says](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/02/24/got-hacked-my-mac-while-writing-story/80844720/ "undefined") his computer was hacked in midair by a fellow passenger on a recent trip. Steven Petrow, who writes about etiquette for _USA Today,_ says the incident happened on a flight from North Carolina to Dallas. Petrow writes that he “spent much of the flight working, using American Airlines Gogo in-flight Internet connection to send and answer emails.” After the flight, a passenger approached Petrow with seemingly uncanny knowledge of his work: --- > “” --- To be fair, Gogo wireless, which provides in-flight Internet access on carriers from American Airlines to Delta, cautions users against transmitting sensitive data while on its network. But Petrow’s story highlights a grim reality: Most people don’t read the fine print, making them vulnerable to hackers and identity thieves. \[[_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2016/02/24/got-hacked-my-mac-while-writing-story/80844720/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4237280/reporter-says-he-was-hacked-on-a-flight/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4237280/reporter-says-he-was-hacked-on-a-flight/"},"headline":"Reporter Says He Was Hacked on a Flight","datePublished":"2016-02-25T17:00:49.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:07:29.976Z","description":"\"I hacked your email on the plane and read everything you sent and received.\"","url":"https://time.com/4237280/reporter-says-he-was-hacked-on-a-flight/","keywords":["Tech","Aviation","Security"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alex Fitzpatrick","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4237280/reporter-says-he-was-hacked-on-a-flight/","name":"Reporter Says He Was Hacked on a Flight"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Tech Time: How Airplane Wifi Works","description":"Tech Time: How Airplane Wifi Works","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/lfTXbUYM/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-10-29T15:49:26.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/lfTXbUYM.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4237280/reporter-says-he-was-hacked-on-a-flight/","duration":"PT1M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4237280/reporter-says-he-was-hacked-on-a-flight/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```