Growth Of Wireless Internet Opens New Path For Thieves
Law enforcement agents say cybercriminals use unsecured Wi-Fi networks to hide their identity and location, and that the problem is growing as more and more universities, municipalities, and independent retailers increasingly offer wide-ranging Wi-Fi grids available to anyone with a Wi-Fi card.
As a result, Wi-Fi use is exploding; over 10 million U.S. homes now have wireless Internet connections via a Wi-Fi base station. However, wireless routers are often sold and set up without activating features that hide a Wi-Fi network or encrypt data sent over the network.
SBC, the nation’s No. 1 DSL service provider, says it has shipped approximately 1 million routers to its customers with encryption turned on by default; but most consumers are simply happy to get their wireless network operating and do not want to complicate the system, says analyst Roberta Wiggins.
The Secret Service cracked a ring of professional data thieves in October and arrested more than 30 people, half of whom used unsecured Wi-Fi networks to obscure their real identity and location. Law enforcement officers say cybercriminals are often logged into neighboring Wi-Fi networks when apprehended at home.
Secret Service special agent Jan Gilhooly says the common practice of hiding behind other people’s network access has caused law enforcement to conduct more in-person surveillance prior to an arrest. Private conversations captured in the recent Secret Service investigation showed the criminals shared information about how to access unsecured Wi-Fi signals with specialized antennas, for example.
Wi-Fi cards do provide identifiable information that law enforcement can track and use to identify a perpetrator, but most consumer routers do not store the information and the equipment is easily switched out of a laptop computer.
Abstracted by the National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center(NLECTC) from the New York Times (03/19/05) P. A1; Schiesel, Seth .