RE: Wireless Legality- Netstumbler and kin

["Erik Hjelmstad" <ehjelmstad () polivec com>]

Here is the article.

http://www.infosecuritymag.com/articles/january02/columns_note.shtml

Erik

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Pennington [mailto:billp () boarder org]
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 9:19 AM
To: vuln-dev () securityfocus com
Subject: Re: Wireless Legality- Netstumbler and kin


Just a quick follow-up to Batz excellent points. I recall reading that the
Attorney  General of Massachusetts made the statement that if any officer
spotting someone walking are driving around with a laptop and an antenna,
the officer should call him and that he would be able to get a probable
cause search warrant issued in no time.

Sorry I can;t find the article right now but I think it was in the Boston
Globe.

----- Original Message -----
From: "batz" <batsy () vapour net>
To: "Bill Pennington" <billp () boarder org>
Cc: <vuln-dev () securityfocus com>; "Russell Handorf"
<rhandorf () mail russells-world com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2002 9:00 AM
Subject: Re: Wireless Legality- Netstumbler and kin


> On Fri, 15 Mar 2002, Bill Pennington wrote:
>
> :1. For Netstumbler to detect the WLAN in question the WLAN must be
> :configured in "open" mode. So the WLAN (Access Point more specifically)
must
> :respond to 802.11b probe packets with a packet that says, hey I am here
and
> :available.
>
> There is also a big issue with "illegal" vs. "successfully prosecutable",
> which is; On networks, No Policy = No Crime. Without explicit warnings
> to all users on the network about acceptable use and the ownership of
> the network, it is quite possible that charges would not stick because
> of this very issue.
>
> IANAL, however, there are laws in Canada that may apply to war driving,
> which have to do with the unlawful interception of data. Whether something
> is legal or not is actually a much more abstract question than many people
> tend to realize.
>
> If you are worried about whether something is illegal, err on the side of
> caution, and stop doing it, and find out from a professional. Free advice
> is seldom worth what you pay for it.
>
> Illegal can mean anything from being probable cause for search, to cause
> for arrest, to being charged, to being convicted and the weight of the
> sentence you recieve. It is a question of whether you are provoking
> someone into interprating the law as a means of recourse, and whether
> you are willing to risk the consequences of that provocation.
>
> --
> batz