Home WiFi Network Security Failings Exposed 161
An anonymous reader writes "The shocking state of home wireless (Wi-Fi) network security in the UK has been revealed by a life assistance company study. CPP used an 'ethical hacker,' Jason Hart, to test thousands of Wi-Fi networks across six UK cities, including London. He found that many didn't even have a password and roughly half of home UK Wi-Fi networks could be hacked in less than 5 seconds."
Re:No password WiFi == unsecured (Score:4, Insightful)
You seem to be confusing "unsecured" with "insecure". They do not mean the same thing.
Unsecured WIFI means you have no password..
Just because it's intentionally unsecured doesn't mean it's not unsecured.
Umm, no. (Score:5, Insightful)
My Wi-Fi has no password, and that's a purposeful choice.
Which doesn't mean it's not unsecured. It just means that it's unsecured on purpose.
Supposed you have a bicycle. You chain it to a lamppost. It is now secured.
Supposed you take the same bicycle and decide purposely to not chain it to anything. Just because you decided not to chain it doesn't make it magically secured. It's still unsecured, you just made the decision not to secure it.
Not Shocking (Score:5, Insightful)
And yet, the world keeps on turning.
Hopping onto somebody's wifi doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean you can get their personal documents, or banking info, or anything else.
Re:No password WiFi != unsecured (Score:2, Insightful)
Some of us are quite happy to provide a little bit of free access to those who need it.
also, it helps to have a little bit of plausible deniability when ACS:Law come calling...
Re:Umm, no. (Score:3, Insightful)
However, in the latter case, you can no longer be said to have failed somehow.
So cute... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not Shocking (Score:4, Insightful)
Hopping onto somebody's wifi doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean you can get their personal documents, or banking info, or anything else.
But you CAN download music on their network and ruin them for life if the RIAA/MPAA finds out.
If it only takes 5 seconds to 'break in' (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Umm, no. (Score:3, Insightful)
Which doesn't mean it's not unsecured. It just means that it's unsecured on purpose.
Not quite. I have two WAPs, one with WPA2-PSK connected to my internal LAN with a ridiculously long key, another open and isolated in a DMZ with very limited access to my LAN. As such, while the WAP isn't locked down, I'd argue it is secured.
Re:No password WiFi != unsecured (Score:2, Insightful)
Even if it is encrypted, you'll see the MAC in the clear.
Re:OT Question (Score:3, Insightful)
Thanks for responding in a civil manner even though I was a bit snarky.
When you get down to it, any 'radio' is broadcasting if you define the area of measurement narrowly enough.