RE: Wireless Security

["David Gillett" <gillettdavid () fhda edu>]

  IANAL, of course, but I *have* been paying attention to issues
like this.....

> A)    What if any obligation to the neighbors does the person 
> who initially setup the Wi-Fi network have?

  None.  If I live on a corner and put up a fence around my lot,
I have no obligation to compensate the pedestrians who used to
shorten their journey by cutting across my lawn.

> B)    What happens IF one neighbor goes in and reads/deletes 
> msgs/files from another neighbor's computer is the person who 
> initially setup the Wi-Fi network for their own use liable?

  Possibly.  A case could be argued that the unsecured Wi-Fi
constitutes an Attractive Nuisance, and a court could find civil 
liability on that basis.  Not a gamble I'd choose to take.

> C)    Can the person who initially setup the Wi-Fi network 
> legally go in and look around his/her neighbors computers?

  Of course not.

> D)    What if one the neighbors get a virus, is the person 
> who initially setup the Wi-Fi network liable?

  Same as B.

> E)    What if any expectations to privacy do the unauthorized 
> users have? 

  PROBABLY none, but they may be able to argue that they were 
not informed of that fact.  They might even argue that the 
unsecured state of the Wi-Fi constituted -- for all they knew!
-- authorization, and that might make even the transmissions
*through* the Wi-Fi subject to various electronic communications
privacy legislation.

Moral:  Public Wi-Fi should be implemented deliberately, not
accidentally, and probably with legal advice up front.  By the 
time any of these questions stops being hypothetical, it may 
already be too late.

David Gillett


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Herman Frederick Ebeling, Jr. [mailto:hfebelingjr () lycos com] 
> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 12:17 PM
> To: security-basics () securityfocus com
> Subject: Wireless Security
>
>
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>
> I've got a question (actually a few) along these lines.  
> Let's say that a person has a Wi-Fi network setup at home.
> And they find out that some of their neighbors have accessed it.
>
> A)    What if any obligation to the neighbors does the person 
> who initially setup
> the Wi-Fi network have?
> B)    What happens IF one neighbor goes in and reads/deletes 
> msgs/files from
> another neighbor's computer is the person who initially setup 
> the Wi-Fi network for their own use liable?
> C)    Can the person who initially setup the Wi-Fi network 
> legally go in and look
> around his/her neighbors computers?
> D)    What if one the neighbors get a virus, is the person 
> who initially setup the
> Wi-Fi network liable?
> E)    What if any expectations to privacy do the unauthorized 
> users have?
>
> Herman
>
> - -----Original Message-----
> From: Daryl Davis [mailto:daryl () ultbingo com]
> Sent: Tuesday, 04 October, 2005 12:56
> To: security-basics () securityfocus com
> Subject: Wireless blocking
>
>
> I believe I have an unauthorized wireless router on my 
> network.  I have been unable to physically find it as of yet.
>
> Does anyone know how to find the hidden SSID and then Jam it?
>
> Thank you.
>
> Daryl R Davis
> Digital Game Media, Inc.
>
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