Fergie's Tech Blog

Fixing Wi-Fi Security Problems: Hire Wardrivers

Olga Kharif writes on BusinessWeek's "The Tech Beat" Blog:

On April 20, Westchester County in New York approved a law that will slap local business owners with a warning or a fine for not securing their Wi-Fi networks. The legislation takes effect in 180 days.

Apparently, to prove just how vulnerable Wi-Fi networks are, a team from the local department of information technology drove around downtown White Plains. In half an hour, they discovered 248 hot spots. Of those, 120 lacked any security.

Soon, the county will be able to issue warnings to business owners whose networks aren't secure. Owners who don't comply within 30 days will be slapped with a $250 fine. Further violations will result in a $500 fine. That's not much; still, small businesses will feel it. And I wouldn't be surprised if similar measures spring up around the country: After all, identity theft is a growing concern. There have been plenty of cases where criminals used Wi-Fi networks to steal customer information.

And yet, about 60% of Wi-Fi networks remain unsecured.

posted by Fergie @ 4/25/2006 06:16:00 AM