Craig Coy needs a new PR person, real quick
If the name Craig Coy doesn’t sound familiar it’s probably because you don’t pay attention to the silly blubbering of people who don’t have much to say. Well I have plenty of spare time, so I pay attention to those very blubbering’s for you.
Mr. Coy is the CEO of the Massachusetts Port authority, or MassPort as it is affectionately known in state. MassPort is the managing authority of Logan International airport in Boston (as well as Worcester Regional Airport) and I’m sure Mr. Coy is a fine CEO when he is functioning as such. But lately he’s been on a tirade over providing Wi-Fi at Logan; actually he’s been on a tirade over WHO can provide Wi-Fi at Logan.
As the Airlines have been watching their revenue streams shrink, many of them have been searching out ways to draw in customers with as many low cost perks as possible, a big one being free or inexpensive Wi-Fi. Well MassPort doesn’t like that, and Craig Coy ran an editorial in USA Today two days ago to explain why they don’t like it. Problem is the only thing Mr. Coy accomplished was to make his organization look like a bunch of fools. First off, Wi-Fi needs to be free as a matter of practicality; there is just no justification for a paid service with the cost of bandwidth being as low as it is. But that can be argued from a business perspective so we’ll let it slide. What can’t slide is Mr. Coy’s assertion that MassPort needs to control wireless networks at Logan as a matter of security.
In these days of terrorism and safety alerts, security is a critical consideration for Logan’s decision to offer central Wi-Fi. The central network is designed with that goal in mind. Massport’s primary focus is to create a safe environment for airline passengers. The central Wi-Fi network provides first responders at Logan with enhanced services and secure communications.
I hate to be the one to break it to Mr Coy, but there is no such thing as a secure WiFi network. I’ll say it again just so we are all clear: THERE IS NO SUCH THING. The very nature of 802.11x wireless networks is to provide network protocols over public airwaves; these are the same frequencies many of your cordless phones run on. Yes you can encrypt your data, but for mission critical work any use of a public frequency poses a risk. If the MA State Police are using WiFi for mission critical communications, the state of Massachusetts needs to demand its money back and call in the National Guard. In a similar vein if Mr. Coy is insinuating that corporate Wi-Fi provides an opportunity for terrorists to cripple air traffic or interfere with security opperations he needs to be removed from his position immediately for fear mongering. This is not about Terrorism; this is about a good old fashioned Massachusetts power grab. It’s about MassPorts bottom line. It’s about quasi-public officials opening their mouths when they have nothing intelligent to offer. And most importantly it’s about one of the fastest growing segments of the tech industry being crippled by a bunch of greedy jerks who can’t manage their operating budgets without taxing every aspect of your existence.
USA Today’s (rather scathing) editorial response
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