Wi-Fi piggybacking illegal in Illinois?
Is piggybacking illegal in Illinois?
Apparently it is according to Assistant States Attorney Tom Wartowski, up in Winnebago County (Rockford area).
Granted the nature of the case is a bit creepy. The guy was parked in a car outside a strangers house riding someone's internet. There is no word if he was up to any mischief in doing so.
This raises all sorts of questions but first let us make a distinction.
Hacking, logging into, gaining access, to someone's computer without their permission is indeed a crime. In a more technical sense that would mean gaining controlled and active access to the hardrive or ram where the data is. There is no requirement for someone to have a secure computer. An insecure computer does not constitute permission.
When you piggyback a wi-fi connection, you are almost never getting access to someone's computer. There would be no controlled or active access to harddrives or ram. In most instances, the wi-fi router is a separate piece of equipment. Passive packet switching should not count if a pc is set up as a router.
Depending on your ISP, the service agreement you have, and the EULA, that wi-fi connection might not even be 'yours'. So even if you did give permission, it might not be yours to give in the first place. Most ISPs forbid reselling of services, which would include reselling for free. College students take note!!! Using your friends wi-fi line might be a crime in Illinois.
To make matters worse, many PCs default configurations make a point of connecting to any open wi-fi connection that is available. Wikipedia has this to say:
So, through no knowledge or active fault of your own, your PC could commit a crime for you.
Apparently it is according to Assistant States Attorney Tom Wartowski, up in Winnebago County (Rockford area).
Granted the nature of the case is a bit creepy. The guy was parked in a car outside a strangers house riding someone's internet. There is no word if he was up to any mischief in doing so.
This raises all sorts of questions but first let us make a distinction.
Hacking, logging into, gaining access, to someone's computer without their permission is indeed a crime. In a more technical sense that would mean gaining controlled and active access to the hardrive or ram where the data is. There is no requirement for someone to have a secure computer. An insecure computer does not constitute permission.
When you piggyback a wi-fi connection, you are almost never getting access to someone's computer. There would be no controlled or active access to harddrives or ram. In most instances, the wi-fi router is a separate piece of equipment. Passive packet switching should not count if a pc is set up as a router.
Depending on your ISP, the service agreement you have, and the EULA, that wi-fi connection might not even be 'yours'. So even if you did give permission, it might not be yours to give in the first place. Most ISPs forbid reselling of services, which would include reselling for free. College students take note!!! Using your friends wi-fi line might be a crime in Illinois.
To make matters worse, many PCs default configurations make a point of connecting to any open wi-fi connection that is available. Wikipedia has this to say:
However, it is also common for people to unintentionally use others' Wi-Fi networks without authorization. Operating systems such as Windows XP and Mac OS X automatically connect to an available wireless network, depending on the network configuration. A user who happens to start up a laptop in the vicinity of an access point may find the computer has joined the network without any visible indication. Moreover, a user intending to join one network may instead end up on another one if the latter's signal is stronger. In combination with automatic discovery of other network resources (see DHCP and Zeroconf) this can lead wireless users to send sensitive data to the wrong destination, as described by Chris Meadows in the February 2004 RISKS Digest. [4]
So, through no knowledge or active fault of your own, your PC could commit a crime for you.
posted by Mahkno at 7:24 AM
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