http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/17/MNH312BTS1.DTL By Matthew B. Stannard Chronicle Staff Writer August 18, 2008 Memorize this: a5d1tmI#9DWSFX`/ksbo"RZ"l`SN`ito%b)Bel*B_EiCZ)q-h/`VF"3Gb_CM#TT. Got it? You might want to try because that's the kind of password you'll need if you really want your wireless network to be secure. That's the word from Keith Maynard - who goes by the name Seric - and he should know. Not only is he a longtime computer security guru - when he isn't riding with the Vampire motorcycle club in Santa Cruz - Seric is one of the original wardrivers, hobbyists who deck out their cars with computers and sensitive antennas and go cruising the streets looking for wireless networks. Wardriving got some bad ink earlier this month when federal prosecutors announced indictments against an international ring of hackers who allegedly used the technique to find poorly secured networks at several East Coast restaurants and stores. Secret Service investigators said Aug. 5 the thieves downloaded more than 40 million credit card numbers from those networks, which they used or sold online, netting millions of dollars and a condo in Florida. But many wardrivers have nothing so nefarious in mind. Some just enjoy the Easter egg hunt of finding networks. Others, like Seric, use wardriving to draw attention to the scope of the emerging digital world. Their hope is that they can persuade people to think about their own wireless security by displaying the weakness they detect in articles, on panels and to professional clients. "Once you buy a tool, you need to learn how to use it correctly," Seric said. [...] __________________________________________________ Visit Defcon Pics - Defcon Memory Repository http://www.defconpics.orgReceived on Tue Aug 19 2008 - 03:08:55 PDT
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