A 39-year-old man from Chiswick, west London, was arrested on Tuesday. Police stated that the reason for the arrest was suspicion that he was using someone else’s wireless Internet connection without permission, which contravenes the Computer Misuse Act and the Communications Act. It seems the unlucky fellow was sitting by a wall of someone’s house, using a laptop, browsing the Internet using an unsecured connection.
Broadband is something that is taken very seriously in the United Kingdom and in other countries where bandwidth is severely limited. Severe fines are in place to deal with the practice and criminal charges can result, it is not a mere misdemeanor, it is a felony. One would think that home owners who are concerned about the misuse of their broadband would be a little more security conscious. Unsecured broadband is an open invitation to theft. An unsecured connection can be compared to leaving your car keys in your car with the windows down. If you want to protect your bandwidth, secure your wireless connection.
What are your thoughts?
Source: Reuters, The Daily Mail (image)
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Tags: Internet, news, Security
6 responses
Aug 23, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Most people I meet just don’t understand wireless networking at all. They really have no idea what they’re doing. Neither the people setting it up, nor the people using it (sometimes illegally).
From where I sit, there are three open wireless connections in range. One of them is called “default” and another is called “linksys”.
I have met one person who was very pleased that their shiny new laptop “came with Internet.”
When I asked what provider, and how much it cost, she said, “I just open explorer.”
I had a look and she was sponging off her neighbour’s open wireless connection. It took a while to explain to her what was going on. She actually thought that all new computers just “had the internet” like magic, with no cables or subscriptions.
Un-protected wireless access points in the city are so common, she’d never noticed a lack of access anywhere she’d been with the laptop. She’d also never thought that someone was paying for her access. It’s odd to think of someone so painfully ignorant of her criminal act being charged with it. I think proving “intent” would give the prosecutor an aneurysm
Aug 23, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Ha ha, now that is funny. Ignorance is bliss. The fact is a lot of people do not know better. Here in Japan, most people really would not care. We get lightning fast speeds and no bandwidth limits. People are not very security savvy when it comes to wireless connections.
If I had wireless, I really would not care if someone next door was sponging my connection, as long as it was just being used for surfing or checking email. If they are doing things that are going to be slowing me down, I might be a little annoyed, but I certainly would not be going to the police about it, I would sort it out with them.
Aug 24, 2007 at 9:18 am
bull that this is a felony…hew gives a #$%^!
Aug 24, 2007 at 10:23 am
I think most of the time people get off with a fine and a stiff warning, but they would still probably have to go to court.
Oct 15, 2007 at 4:16 pm
im using neighbours broadband now and i feel no remorse – if its in my airspace its mine. end of.
Mar 22, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I have open access to my wifi. Its prodcasting just like an fm
radio free of charge.
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