🛩 Visiting airports, just for fun?

Yes, technology is also making the world a better place — medical advancements, improved connectivity, and democratized information instantly spring to mind as plusses in its corner.

But as war envelops Israel this week, technology’s power to magnify the failings of humankind has been readily on display as bad actors, using an array of high-tech tools, have deepened the crisis.

Cyberattacks have spread misinformation, cut off reliable information, and limited public utilities

In addition to Hamas’ deadly attacks on the ground, hackers targeted Israeli infrastructure, per SecurityWeek:

• Emergency warning systems were temporarily offline.
• A power grid organization, power plant, and the nation’s largest electrical supplier were all targeted.
• Attacks were made on Israeli government websites.

The RedAlert app, which sends citizens real-time alerts about rocket launches, was also compromised, resulting in one particularly awful fake alert about an incoming nuclear bomb.

Hackers also went after The Jerusalem Post, Israel’s largest English-language daily newspaper, taking down its website “several times.”

• This all says nothing about the continued demise of X (formerly Twitter) as the world’s go-to breaking news platform. It’s well documented by now why it isn’t the avenue it once was for reliable reporting, but it’s brutal seeing it come to a head in this moment of crisis, as the epicenter of what Axios called “a misinformation storm.”

When Hamas punctured the Middle East’s fragile peace this week, it was cryptocurrency that made it possible

Hamas and two other groups linked to the attack — Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah — have been designated foreign terrorist organizations by the US government, which limits their access to international banking systems.

They bypassed those institutions via crypto, funding their attacks using digital wallets, per The Wall Street Journal. The PIJ and Hamas have raised up to $93m and $41m, respectively, in crypto since August 2021.

Israeli police reportedly froze more terror-linked digital accounts yesterday, but it’ll likely remain a game of Whac-A-Mole unless leading crypto exchanges crack down on financial crimes.

One more thing: This week proved how technology can be manipulated for nefarious purposes, but it also proved yet another vulnerability in a tech-forward world: technological overreliance.

Defense experts believe Israel’s focus on high-tech intelligence-gathering methods and advanced weaponry made it susceptible to a surprise low-tech ground assault.

Put down the passport: Your next day trip could soon be all airport, no airplane.

After pouring $2.8B into construction, Orlando International Airport’s Terminal C is ready to show off its new look — for a price.

The airport launched an Experience MCO visitor program that offers a trip option sans actual traveling:

• After completing an online application, approved visitors go through standard TSA screening and present their passes.
• The program accommodates up to 50 guests a day and includes access to Terminal C.
• Inside, visitors can visit the terminal’s restaurants and shops, use its premium lounge, and admire its palm trees and murals.

Since the pilot program’s launch last month, 1.4k+ people have applied for passes.

Now, Experience MCO aims to attract even more foot traffic to the terminal, which has already seen 6.4m people pass through since opening in 2022.

This isn’t the first program of its kind

Pittsburgh’s airport launched its (now paused) program in 2017, and Seattle’s visitor pass program, launched in 2018, was so successful that it increased its guest capacity to 300 a day.

It’s a trend that’s likely to continue as investors eye ways to make airports more than just a point of transportation.

Plus, the Biden administration’s 2022 bipartisan infrastructure law has allocated $1B annually over five years to improve US airport infrastructure (though it’s estimated they’ll need $151B+ more).

And airports are increasingly betting…

… on the visitor experience — from high-tech security and bathrooms to striking architecture and greenery.

• Oregon’s Portland International Airport has budgeted $1.5B to turn its main terminal into a Portland-inspired “street” with local shops and restaurants.
• New York’s LaGuardia Airport recently finished its $8B overhaul to make the airport feel more like a luxury resort than a transit hub.

And back in Orlando, there’s even a digital “Moment Vault” where travelers can have an immersive, interactive experience.

Who even needs the plane?