Latest news with #MatthewHicks
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Travel + Leisure
12 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
This Is One of the Biggest Cybersecurity Mistakes You Can Make at an Airport, Experts Warn
While cruising an airport's public internet network may feel like a convenience, criminals can easily exploit those networks to steal sensitive data from unsuspecting travelers, experts warn. 'It's definitely among the worst things you can do at an airport,' Matthew Hicks, a cybersecurity expert and associate professor of computer science at Virginia Tech, told Travel + Leisure . Public Wi-Fi is a shared internet connection, often over an unsecured network. Users are therefore vulnerable to hackers, who can intercept data like credit card details or account passwords, and install malware onto consumers' devices, according to experts. About 40 percent of Americans have had their data compromised while using a public Wi-Fi network, according to a recent Forbes Advisor survey of 2,000 workers who regularly use public internet. Yet, 23 percent of users said they think public Wi-Fi is completely safe, and another 43 percent said it's somewhat safe, the Forbes survey found. Anything you do on airport Wi-Fi should be something you'd be comfortable with the rest of the world knowing about. — John Breyault Because travelers often have ample downtime before flights—and may be in an area without cellular connection—airports are a common access point for public Wi-Fi, Hicks said. Consumers reported losing more than $16 billion to internet crime overall in 2024, a record high and a 33 percent increase from 2023, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Personal data breaches were among the top three most common complaints received by the FBI, it said. 'As nearly all aspects of our lives have become digitally connected, the attack surface for cyber actors has grown exponentially,' B. Chad Yarbrough, operations director for the FBI's criminal and cyber unit, wrote in the Bureau's annual internet crime report. 'Scammers are increasingly using the Internet to steal Americans' hard-earned savings.' Scammers also often try to trick travelers into logging onto fake Wi-Fi networks, John Breyault, vice president of public policy, telecommunications and fraud at the National Consumers League, a consumer advocacy group, told T+L. Someone trying to connect to the O'Hare Guest Wi-Fi network may unknowingly access another—perhaps 'O'Hare Guest 2' or 'Chicago Airport Wi-Fi'—controlled by a criminal. "Make sure [the network] is the one run by the airport, and not someone setting up a honeypot," Breyault said. In 2024, the Australian Federal Police charged a man for allegedly establishing one of these so-called 'evil twin' networks to steal people's personal data. He did this at airports in Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide, among other places, AFP reported. Accessing the correct network will 'eliminate most of the real attackers,' Hicks said, adding that travelers can ask airport personnel if they're unsure. Using your cell phone to establish a personal internet hotspot is among the safest ways to access the web in an airport. This simple step will reduce the number of attackers to 'near zero,' according to Hicks. That's because it's a private cellular connection instead of an open Wi-Fi network. 'You're not sharing that connection with everyone else in the airport,' Breyault said. 'Your data will be much safer in transit.' If that's not available, experts recommend using a device with a 'virtual private network' or VPN, which is an encrypted connection that offers an additional layer of security. Hicks' best advice is to buy one from a reputable, U.S.-based company. Travelers should ultimately avoid logging into financial, email, social media, or other sensitive accounts over airport Wi-Fi, Breyault noted. 'If you're just checking the weather, that's one thing,' Breyault said. 'If you're checking your bank account balance, that's something different.' "Anything you do on airport Wi-Fi should be something you'd be comfortable with the rest of the world knowing about,' he said.
BBC News
12-03-2025
- BBC News
Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft bridges in line for industry award
They helped forge an unlikely kinship between two coastal towns desperate to see traffic flowing freely on their much-anticipated third river crossings. Now the friendly rivalry between Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft has been restored as both of their bascule bridges, which opened last year, go head-to-head for an industry award. The BBC takes a look at both constructions ahead of what could be their crowning moment. Why were the bridges needed? The £121m Herring Bridge was designed to relieve pressure on Great Yarmouth's Haven and Breydon bridges, especially during the peak tourist resort is seen as a gateway to the Norfolk Broads and the North Sea, which serves Britain's oil, gas and renewables links the port area with the A47 - the main road carrying traffic to the Midlands and onwards to the north of Lowestoft, there had been calls for a third river crossing for many decades and plans for the bridge were approved in with its Norfolk cousin, the purpose of the £145m Gull Wing Bridge is to reduce traffic congestion in the area and shorten journey times. What is so special about the bridges? A bascule bridge is made up of one or two movable spans, which pivot upward to allow river traffic to pass. The word 'bascule' means see-saw in Gull Wing Bridge is the largest of its kind in the world, sitting clear of the highest tide by 12m (39ft), with the bascule span 39.5m (130ft) long, 22m (72ft) wide and 35m (115ft) leader of the Conservative-controlled Suffolk County Council, Matthew Hicks, said Gull Wing Bridge would stand as an "iconic new landmark" for the over in Great Yarmouth, the then Conservative MP for the town, Brandon Lewis, heralded the Herring Bridge as "genuinely iconic and game changing".The double-leaf bascule bridge opens in the middle to allow river traffic taller than 4.5m (15ft) was made in two halves by a specialist firm in Belgium, before being transported by sea and up the River Yare to be installed. Was it all plain sailing? Both bridges had been on the drawing board for many years before they came to fruition and finally opened in Herring bridge was first put forward by Norfolk County Council in 2016, with construction starting in January 2020. The whole process, from design, planning and consent, took about seven faced numerous setbacks and delays, including when a World War Two bomb was discovered, and a potential burrow of voles was found near the then had to shut for six days soon after its opening in February last year over safety concerns. Things had not been any easier over the county border in Lowestoft, which saw its new bridge open seven months later than Great was under construction from 2021 and finally opened in September. The whole idea of a third river crossing was reportedly first mooted in faced setbacks over safety works, and when a delivery was delayed. Both bridges had been expected to open in 2023. What's the award? Norfolk and Suffolk have the champagne on ice for the The Bridges Awards on are both nominated for "Bridges Design and Construction Award", for projects over £ will bridges be burned or built between the Norfolk/Suffolk rival resorts?Perhaps neither - also in the running is a £16m walking and cycling bridge over the River Severn Worcester. Follow East of England news on X, Instagram and Facebook: BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk.
BBC News
20-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Consultation opens on joint mayor role for Norfolk and Suffolk
The government has launched a public consultation on plans to replace the current system of local government in Norfolk and Suffolk with a mayor-led authority for both consultation is part of the government's wider devolution plans to move more power away from Westminster to local communities. It would mean county, district, borough and city councils were merged into several single unitary authorities overseen by the directly elected mayor. The government said merging councils could save £ have been accusations of democracy being sidelined over the fast-tracking of the proposal, which has led to this May's local elections being postponed for a year. The government published its White Paper outlining the devolution plans in December, which it said would help to drive economic growth and streamline it is seeking the views of those who live and work across Norfolk and are questions on the proposed geography, how the combined county authority would make decisions, as well as questions on the effects of working across this geography through a mayoral combined county present county council leaders support the single mayor authority this month, Suffolk County Council leader Matthew Hicks said: "Devolution and council reorganisation will mean we can secure and free up funding to plough directly back into public services that benefit our residents."But others are concerned some services will be "squeezed" as planners focus on things like social services. Norfolk has eight councils at present, while Suffolk has seven. The district councils are responsible for services such as bin collections, parks and local planning. Many of them already have combined to share a lot of services, but retain political independence from each two county councils provide services including waste disposal, road maintenance, schools, libraries and social the new proposals, county, borough and district authorities would be replaced by fewer unitary authorities, with representation at the combined mayor-led mayoral combined authority consultation closes on 13 April. A separate consultation on proposals for further local government reorganisation is expected to follow at a later date, possibly September. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
