more on Two replies to open 802.11 connections and "wardriving"

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "sbaker () steptoe com" <sbaker () steptoe com>
Date: September 11, 2004 7:07:25 PM EST
To: "'dave () farber net'" <dave () farber net>
Cc: "Albertazzie, Sally" <SAlbertazzie () steptoe com>
Subject: RE: [IP] Two replies to open 802.11 connections and  
"wardriving"

Dave,

For a different view -- from the Justice Department, unfortunately --  
here's
a case I highlighted in E-Commerce Law Week recently:

WiFi - Was That Wardriving or Joyriding?

Wardriving. Even if you don't know what it is, you know that it must be
illegal. And if you have any doubts, federal prosecutors don't. On  
August 3,
they announced that Paul Timmins had pleaded guilty to a single count of
fraudulent and unauthorized WiFi access to the private corporate  
network of
a Lowe's store. Timmins stumbled on the network while engaged in
"wardriving" - the practice of driving around with a laptop computer  
while
looking for open wireless connections. In this case, he found one - in  
the
parking lot of a Lowe's store in suburban Detroit. Timmins' guilty plea  
in
the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina marks
what is believed to be the first wardriving conviction in the US.  
Whether
you think that's a good idea depends on whether you've ever used an  
unknown
WiFi port to connect to the Internet, which the US Justice Department  
seems
to think is a crime

http://www.steptoe.com/index.cfm? 
fuseaction=DspNewsDetails&id=3464&site_id=1
82

Stewart Baker

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