Forwarded from: Pete Lindstrom <plindstromat_private> Hmmm, not sure if "due care" is a legal term or not, nor whether it applies to criminal activity.. It seems to me that "due care" can easily fly in the face of personal freedom. I would argue that I have every right to hang an ethernet cable out my window on my property and not expect someone else to tap in, just like I would argue I should be able to leave my keys in the ignition without having my car stolen, women should be able to wear thongs at the beach without risking a pinch, I should be allowed to let certain people use my bike but not others, and I should be able to write run-on sentences if I want to (;-)). As long as I am not infringing on someone else's rights or creating a dangerous situation, etc., why shouldn't I be allowed to? Now, does that make me smart? well, no. Naive? Probably (or more likely just plain dumb), but sometimes I'd just rather assume the best in people and long for the days when people weren't always looking to take advantage of one another (wipe those smirks off your faces). What I do know is that it sure doesn't make me a 'villain,' it makes the person who broke the law a criminal. Extenuating circumstances? heck, I don't know. Now, back to 'warchalking' - 99.9% of the world doesn't even know what that means, let alone be able to exercise something that security-conscious folk might call 'due care.' We still have people sending money to Nigeria to reinstate whoever-it-is to power and recover millions, for crying out loud. I do happen to believe that saying "painting a target" equals theft goes way overboard, but I am absolutely in the other corner if/when someone makes use of somebody else's wireless connection to their advantage, without being invited or otherwise authorized. Sometimes folks are willing to take the risk, especially when it appears to be harmless enough (not saying that is the case here) - many of us are constant speeders on the highway, but we have to understand the downside as well, and pay our tickets if we get them (right?). regards, Pete -----Original Message----- From: InfoSec News [mailto:isnat_private] Sent: Friday, September 20, 2002 2:50 AM To: isnat_private Subject: RE: [ISN] Warchalking is theft, says Nokia Fowarded from: jsklein <jskleinat_private> This must be a marketing piece. Notice there are no names of Nokia staff are and only one Nokia reference. They must be selling a new product. Sounds like Mr. James Middleton has just reproduced a Nokia company press releases and label it as News. And you wonder why we don't trust the press :-). Now let's address the real issues in this article, theft of services. The theft is the result of companies are not practicing due care for their wireless networks. And as always, it's easer to blame a "Hacker" then take responsibility for your actions. If I put an Ethernet cable out the windows and connect it to my network. Someone uses the Ethernet cable and labels it as an Ethernet cable. You are telling me that the villain the person who use my Ethernet and labeled it. No, it is me, for being stupid enough to put the Ethernet out the window. Joe Klein -----Original Message----- From: owner-isnat_private [mailto:owner-isnat_private] On Behalf Of InfoSec News Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 5:48 AM To: isnat_private Subject: [ISN] Warchalking is theft, says Nokia http://www.vnunet.com/News/1135130 By James Middleton 18-09-2002 Geek 'pioneers' slammed as bandwidth thieves Warchalking, the technique of highlighting areas where wireless networks can be accessed freely, has been blasted as theft. And the practitioners of warchalking are being slammed as bandwidth thieves in an advisory issued by mobile and wireless vendor Nokia. Over the last few months, geeks have been drawing chalk symbols on walls and pavements in cities to mark points where signals from nearby office wireless networks can be tapped into to access the internet. The initial hysteria was over security, when it emerged that warchalkers may also be freely browsing corporate networks and accessing private company information. Now Nokia has raised the stakes. "Data privacy is at stake, and so is data integrity," the firm said. "But the little-talked-about issue of bandwidth-robbing by these warchalkers should not be ignored. "While the warchalkers maintain they are not trying to hack networks, they are using a resource which they haven't paid for." [...] - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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