Safe as Houses

News that the Queensland Police is the first in the world to set up a squad to check home WiFi fraud has a lot of people

News that the Queensland Police is the first in the world to set up a squad to check home WiFi fraud has a lot of people talking-on and off line.
 
The rapid growth in what is known as 'wardriving' - the search for unsecured wireless networks around suburban streets is behind the move.
 
Criminals are 'piggy-backing' on the WiFi connections of ordinary computer users, and using them to anonymously commit crimes such as fraud and identity theft, a Queensland Police spokesman told the media recently.
 
Wireless is open to exploitation because many people are not securing their networks or leaving the default password provided by the manufacturers of the home equipment.
 
It's an issue that has grown as more people install wireless systems at home to access the web or link gadgets like PCs. In fact Australia saw a nearly 200 percent jump in WiFi usage at home in 2007 and we are now the 8th biggest user in the world.
 
While many people see it as a harmless activity - more than half of computer users said they'd used someone else's wireless network according to recent research - the easy exploitation by criminals is fast becoming a major problem.
 
Certainly the Queensland move is being watched by other police forces around Australia and the rest of the world, at the same time that laws appear to be getting much tougher.
 
Even password security may soon be useless. Researchers last year found a method of cracking a key encryption feature used in securing wireless systems that doesn't require trying a large number of possibilities.
 
One simple answer, of course, could be keeping the sensitive stuff on wire - Smart Wire that is.