The Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), one of the flagship works of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, was inaugurated in March 2022. A month earlier, airport executives signed a collaboration agreement with the company CFE Telecomunicaciones e Internet para Todos ( CFE TEIT) for the provision of internet services in public places, that is, the so-called WiFi points, according to information contained in the emails leaked by the Guacamaya hacker group to which Expansión had access.
In the collaboration agreement, the airport ensures that all information and activity that is developed and provided through the WiFi points of CFE Telecomunicaciones must be considered “reserved, privileged and strictly confidential.” However, the AIFA also recognizes in the document the possibility of violation of user information.
According to the Network in Defense of Digital Rights (R3D), free Wi-Fi networks represent a risk because, in a hack to these free internet points, cybercriminals can access certain information, such as how many devices are connected, the address from which a user connects or the sites they visit.
In the agreement, the AIFA “disclaims any misuse of the service such as disclosure of information, illicit activities because the information will be in a public domain at the time it is provided.”
The airport undertook in the agreement to “make users aware of the risks involved in the use of free internet networks and making use of them is up to consideration and choice.” However, users who have used AIFA’s open network say that there is no clear warning about the risks of information vulnerability when using the Internet.
Previously, experts have pointed out that there is a risk of information breach that government telecommunications companies, such as CFE Telecomunicaciones, can use the information to spy on users.
Until now, one of the drawbacks of the new airport is the lack of signal in the surroundings to make calls and download data to send messages or use apps. To improve the connectivity system, in April of this year, the AIFA signed an agreement with Telmex, Carlos Slim’s company, to be the operator that offers telephone and internet services in its facilities.
A ‘non-profit’ agreement
The agreement signed by AIFA and CFE Telecomunicaciones, valid for 12 months with the option to extend it, stipulates that the airport will share, to the extent possible, its installed telecommunications infrastructure, which includes fiber optics to expand the coverage of connectivity.
While CFE Telecom must provide, at no cost, the technological equipment necessary for the distribution of the service, as well as facilities for its backup installation and electrical supply.
“In the execution of this instrument (for the provision of internet services) there will be no profit of economic consideration for the benefit of any of the parties,” the document states.
In addition, the subsidiary company of the CFE must provide training and advice to the AIFA for monitoring the quality of the service and the optimal functioning of the equipment.
