Colorado Sheriffs To WarDrive For Safety 297
rwx writes "The Sheriff's Department in Douglas County, Colorado says it's going to start warning computer users that their networks may be vulnerable to hackers. It plans on equipping its patrol cars with devices that detect unprotected computer networks, and distributing brochures to computer users in vulnerable areas, instructing them on how to password protect their networks."
how long (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:how long (Score:5, Interesting)
The bandwidth they use is inconsequential. I suppose if a neighbor decided to go wild on bittorrent or something I might have to take action, but for now it's free lunch if you're in my neighborhood. That's the way I'd like it to be everywhere, so it makes sense for me to help it along in any way I can.
The city next door has a public utility that does cable modems among other things. They have set up WAPs on street lights all over town, and if you have cable modem service you can use it to login to any WAP in the city. Coverage is pretty good, close to 100% downtown. It'd be nice if they would support it with tax dollars and open it up completely, but that's not terribly likely to happen. Maybe in a few years.
Re:how long (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:how long (Score:2)
Re:how long (Score:2)
Re:how long (Score:2)
Re:how long (Score:5, Interesting)
I can pick up 5-6 access points from my house. All are locked down except for one named "BeMyGuest"; I've used it a few times when my connection has been down, and when I figured out who's it was, I invited them to my barbecue. So I hereby counter your hypothetical, not very logical threat of an FBI raid, with the actual, already realized threat of: Free Beer.
Re:how long (Score:5, Funny)
Re:how long (Score:3, Informative)
In other words, if you've got an open WAP and there isn't any evidence on your systems you have little to fear and a lesson learned, freedom comes at a price;
my WAP is open, it is linked to a multi-homed router that can tell the difference between my systems and others, my wireless systems can see
my other home systems the rest are g
Re:how long (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:how long (Score:5, Insightful)
The law of unintentional consequences dictates that in order to fulfil your wishes... you will have to upgrade to the latest version of Windows to run that configuration software.
(and yes... there are better ways to do it, but this is an industry pawning over the droppings of an 800 pound gorilla)
As long as that's all they're doing (Score:5, Insightful)
Seeing as how most people have no idea that their wireless routers are so insecure by default...
What they aren't saying (Score:2)
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:3, Insightful)
Personally, I wouldn't like it at all if the cops went around checking my front door to see if it were locked (especially if they did not obtain my consent to do). Of course, that differs a bit from scanning for open wireless access points because checking my front door requires them to trespass on my property.
My bigger issue with the wireless scanning would be paying these public servants with my tax dollar
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:2)
That would be my biggest concern too.
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:2)
Exactly. I lived in a small town (in Colorado no less) where if you forgot and left your garage door open all night, in the morning you'd find a little note from the police on the windshield of your car. "Don't be a victim..." or some such.
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:3, Insightful)
Actually, in my neighborhood, they sent around an officer to advise people on how to save money on their insurance, pointing out stuff like window security, deadbolt strength, just general stuff. Things you wouldn't necessarily think of.
As I said, as long as all they did was note you had an open network, and handed you a pamphlet talking about wireless security, and nothing further, no, I wouldn't have
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:2)
Hm... they sent a cop to look around [rense.com] eh?
How "nice" of them...
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:3, Insightful)
Its not like he's sticking his head in the door, he's only driving by to see if the door is already open. If yes, he leaves behind a safety tip on how to close and lock your door.
Re:As long as that's all they're doing (Score:2)
Limit access? (Score:4, Funny)
What would happen... (Score:5, Interesting)
They can get online and I invite them too (network is titled "OPENNETWORK"). I wonder how the cops would respond if I told them that I purposely set it up to allow people to wardrive onto my internets?
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
I wonder how the cops would respond...
They would probably say "okay, that's your choice... this was just a friendly note in case you didn't realize that your network was insecure."
The police are maybe worried that open access points are easy on-ramps for malicious hackers (or "pirates"), since they can do some hacking/downloading and r
Re:What would happen... (Score:5, Insightful)
But yikes, could you imagine the problems you could have if someone was using your open network for downloading child porn, or even for trading copyrighted music or movies, or for some sort of "terrorist" activity. Even if you have nothing to do with it, when the authorities have trouble catching the people actually doing the cimes they are going to look for a scapegoat, and that will be you for "recklessly enabling" the crime!
I am not saying you are doing anything morally or legaly wrong, I think what you are doing is a good thing. But I think what you are doing is a bit unwise. Just like it is morally right for Falong Gong to openly practice their religion in China, but it is a very bad idea for them to do so... I say it is a bad idea to run an open network! Sorry, but your instinct for self-preservation should be higher than your altruism.
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
It's really too bad.
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
So, while it is great to be nice and offer bandwidth for free, you are putting yourself at risk by doing so.
Re:What would happen... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:What would happen... (Score:3, Insightful)
Isn't it often people for whom this is *not* true that really get things changed for the better?
Just saying.
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
Re:What would happen... (Score:2)
People who want to share? (Score:4, Interesting)
A) has permission from their service provider to offer a Wifi hot spot,
B) wants to leave it open for the public, and
C) tells this to the police officer who tries to give him a brochure?
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2)
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2)
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2)
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2)
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2, Insightful)
"Advice" from cops generally comes with coercion.
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2)
Re:People who want to share? (Score:2)
Clearly they do... that's why they're using resources to wardrive. I doubt the training that individual patrol officers got was technical or detailed enough to explain the difference between intentional and unintentional open networks. Most likely, all it said was that "open is bad" and listed many crimes that could take place that would be traced back to the wrong person.
If a cop, when faced with someone who chooses to open his network, starts running
Missing D and E (Score:2)
D) Videotape them
then you can also add
E) Get arrested.
Reminds me of the Movie Hackers (Score:4, Funny)
He also says hackers can upload or download such things as child pornography.
From a famous movie
Hackers? (Score:2, Interesting)
--
So who is hotter? Ali or Ali's Sister?
Re:Hackers? (Score:2)
Maybe on
Wouldn't a dhcpcd log count (Score:2)
Laptop) Can I use your network?
AP) Sure you can here's and IP address. If you want to access the internet then you'll need this gateway address. These are only good for 24 hours so ask me again if you are still here tommorrow.
Laptop) Thanks!
Your laptop, acting on your behalf, specifically ASKS if it can use the network which was advertized. The access point, acting on behalf of the network owner, then responds with an overwhelming YES.
The closest real worl
Oh good! (Score:3, Funny)
I can feel the warm safety of encrypted radio waves already!
An opposing thought (Score:2)
The letter is not a threat or violation but a courtesy notice that you are open to potential problems. It is exactly like a cop stopping and telling you your wife left the door to your house open. You
This isn't their 'department'... (Score:4, Interesting)
What's next? Are they going to start testing peoples' front doors to see if they're unlocked? Again, it's none of their business, and it's wasting taxpayer money. Stick to your department, which is upholding the law.
Re:This isn't their 'department'... (Score:4, Insightful)
And that would be a bad thing? Some years ago cities and police departments figured out that abandoned building were a breeding place for crime and started going after landlords to either secure the property or face penalties ranging from fines to loss of the property. The result was that crime dropped, and the neighbourhood became livable.
Mind you I'm not suggesting an open network is analogous to a vacant crack house, but being a good and responsible neighbour is good for everyone involved, whether that's a residential area or the internet doesn't make much difference. It's perfectly reasonable that the responsibility is shared by everyone.
If one of my neighbours leaves their door open, that's fine by me. But if the habit or a laissez-faire attitude starts inviting problems (allowing strangers to party, kids hanging out, etc.) it's a different story altogether. Similarly, I couldn't care less if the average Windows user can't or won't grasp the necessity of securing his or her system, but if that system starts spewing out spam that ends up in my inbox, then yes, I would care. Someone taking the trouble to get involved and checking up on such dimwits can only be A Good Thing.
Stick to your department, which is upholding the law.
Given the state of affairs today, I'd prefer everyone be required to pass a proficiency test and receive a license to use a computer. No, I'm not kidding. Until that or something similar happens, the "law" is going to remain a hodge-podge of rules and regulations that remain mostly unenforced leaving people to think It's All Good and what people do or don't do doesn't really matter since no one's in charge anyway.
Re:This isn't their 'department'... (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, how could police officers going onto your private property and testing your doors to see if they are locked possibly be a bad thing?
I actually have a local policeman that comes into my house at night and makes sure I place my wallet in a secure location before I go to sleep. He also checks all the window-blinds to make sure no terrorists or pedophiles can see into our windows. Recently, I put in a request for a uniformed officer to monitor my children while they draw pictures; I wouldn't want them to poke themselves in the eye with a crayon.
Agreed. Computers are very, very dangerous if they fall into the wrong hands. If there was some way we could pour money into a complicated beuraucratic licensing system, I'd be all for it.
Check to see if my front door is locked (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Check to see if my front door is locked (Score:2)
Illegal hacking? (Score:2)
I'm not really advocating charging police officers for this, it is really to point out how absurd such laws are.
Why... (Score:2)
From TFA:
Re:Why... (Score:2)
"If someone is driving by on the street they could easily use your internet access to commit a crime, whether it's fraudulent credit card transactions
I found that quite amusing, especially given that credit card fraud is ranked right beside "car breakin" on the list of "things that cops don't give a shit about."
I think what this is really about is wanting to peek into people's houses under the guise of "your AP is open". Basically it's exactly the same as having a traff
This just give them an excuse... (Score:4, Insightful)
Those are tomatoe plants, right? (Score:2)
Re:Those are tomatoe plants, right? Mod parent up (Score:2)
Since there's no way they could know exactly which residence had the unsecured access point, they'd have to visit every residence in the vicinity. That gives the police the opportunity to
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This is what real cops do (Score:4, Interesting)
Why is everyone so upset? (Score:3, Insightful)
The best example I can think of is the police driving through my grandparents neighborhood and noticing a lot of roll up garage doors partially opened to vent the heat buildup in the garage. Do they knock down your door and force you to close it? No, they sent out a flyer notifying people of the possible crimes that could happen as a result of it being rolled up. Am I missing something here?
More power to /. (Score:2)
I for once welcome our slashdotters overlords who, as soon as they read "police", think invasion of privacy. But in fact, the FA says that the officer offers brochures to computer users, not break in their home. For the ONE time a public service offers service to the public, our beloved geeks are still whining.
I usually get allergies when I read "police" next to me, but this time, we have to admit it's a pretty good idea.
Observations from WarBussing (Score:4, Interesting)
We Can Only Hope... (Score:2)
Awfully inefficient (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Awfully inefficient (Score:2)
I'll be sure to relay all whitehouse.gov death threats, skriptkiddy attacks on pentagon.mil and irc bot-net controlling through YOUR open access point. Good luck handling the legal repercussions when the FBI or Secret Service has Comcast trace the activity - and it comes out to an IP assigned to you in their RADIUS logs. You'll EVENTUALLY be able to prove your innocence - but only after a lengthy and costly time in court trying to explain all of the above to a judge with the US District Attorney bea
Zzzzzzzz (Score:2)
Boy, that's going to help me sleep so much better at night now.
ok (Score:2)
Arent the only people with an identifiable (phone#,name,???) network the ones that WANT to share. The people who don't know any better won't have anything other than 'linksys' or something correct?
Either this does nothing cause they can't find the owner. Or it lets us know our neighbors have a access point available.
Nothing particularly evil i guess, but nothing very productive either IMHO. Seems like another waste of $$, life goes on
annoymous holes (Score:2)
it just bugs them that 'annoymous holes' can exist
where people cant be traced to a fixed address on which
to pin responsibility.
2cents
Here come the kiddy porn cops to sniff your ports (Score:5, Insightful)
Kiddy Porn
Child molesters
Porn Molestors
Sexual predators
Kiddy porn predator molestors
And terrorists.
And you'll catch almost nobody except some innocent person as always.
Don't issue brochures, issue WARNINGS (Score:2)
My Favorite Way to Run (Score:2)
I'll probably lock down the wireless network with WPA-PSK though, as I'm planning on doing VOIP over it in the near future...
Well, it'll take them awhile (Score:3, Insightful)
And yeah, I live in Colorado.
It's great to know that the cops will now be focusing on the real danger. Instead of those drunk and/or reckless drivers, we'll be warning people about their wireless networks.
In a related news story... (Score:3, Insightful)
This is actually nice! (Score:2)
I certainly hope they don't pay thousands of dollars for their wardriving rigs, and I also hope there is enough accounting to deal with abuses the police officers might feel the need to engage in.
Perhaps we can send messages to our wardriving cops via the open wireless networks, like "Happy Wardriving!"
Hmmm, missing another point (Score:2, Insightful)
Let's not forget how easy it is to hack WEP encryption.
Also, I don't like how the word "hacker" is being thrown around. You don't do any hacking to connect to an open wifi network. Windows will even do it automatically for you. So, therefore, Bill Gates is hacking wifi.
don't they have something better to do? (Score:5, Informative)
You can find the statistics here [dcsheriff.net]
The numbers were up in all but a handful of categories.
Murder & Non-Negligent Manslaughter - 3
Negligent Manslaughter / Vehicle - 1
Sexual Assault by Force - 73
Sexual Assault on a Child - 104
Incest - 15
Robbery - 16
Kidnapping - 72
Assault with Weapon - 80
Assault without Weapon - 551
Burglary to Residence - 446
Burglary to Non-Residence - 186
Theft over $500 - 1021
Theft under $500 and over $100 - 758
Theft under $100 - 764
Embezzlement - 1
Possession of Stolen Property - 106
Motor Vehicle Theft - 245
Arson - 41
Criminal Mischief - 1240
Drug Violations- 569
Bribery, Extortion - 22
Gambling - 1
Fraud - 899
Pornography, Prostitution - 9
Weapons Violations - 35
The douglas county cops need to ge their priorities straight.
RS
That's no way to do it (Score:4, Funny)
Lame approach...that brochure will go in the basket with the aluminum siding ad. Better to leave them an email or an IM: "Hi there, Mr. Joe Blow! We were just driving down Partridge Meadows Blvd while you were browsing www.kidpoontang.com and thought you'd like to read this page about encryption and passwords..."
rj
Re:Open nets are good for everyone (Score:3, Insightful)
-I can intercept the data being sent so I can passively and actively (I believe someone made a program that let's one return arbitrary data to webrowsers on wireless networks):
--steal passwords
--steal private information
-Take advantage of unsecured systems as there is no firewall/router blocking the ports
-Possibly change the settings of the wireless router
except the ignorant owner (Score:4, Insightful)
I think the idea of cops (or anyone) delivering a note explaining what the threats are and what you can do to fix it (if you'd like to fix it) is great. Good for Douglas County.
Re:except the ignorant owner (Score:2)
You don't actually think they will be trying passwords do you?
They'll see that linksys / netgear router with it's default password as "secured" and move on. (because it asks for a password)
In truth... their efforts are not of much use for the purpose of securing networks.
So... they are incompetent for the task... or this isn't the real task they are trying to accomplish.
Re:except the ignorant owner (Score:2)
Re:Open nets are good for everyone (Score:2)
Re:Open nets are good for everyone (Score:2)
But for now, why don't you come downtown with us and answer some questions about this "OTHER GUY" and how you set up your network so he could use it...
Re:Wireless broken? noo.... (Score:2)
Re:Yeah (Score:3, Insightful)
As soon as I read the article summary, first thought was that this is finally an active (and not too expensive) stance against this sort of vulnerabilities: All the time people here on Slashdot complaint that Joe Average doesn't know shit about protecting his own computer/co
Re:Yeah (Score:5, Funny)
Heh, the first response to a story is almost always a snarky putdown; I think it's become something of a tradition. God forbid the story is a dupe, then there's going to be snark overload.
I swear to God, if a news-item such as this would appear on the frontpage ..
.. it's a pretty safe bet that the first reply would be something like this:
Re:Yeah (Score:2, Insightful)
it's still not good enough for some people.
I can only wait for the tinfoilhat-posts who will condemn this project, because 'they' might also snoop on your browsing!!!!oneeleven!!!
Well, they're equipping police cars w
Pickpockets (Score:4, Interesting)
Amusing actually.
Re:Pickpockets (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Yeah (Score:3, Insightful)
Chicken, meet Egg. (Score:5, Insightful)
Cases of abuse aside (and they really do happen, perhaps not as often as is perceived, but often enough that nearly everyone has had at least one bad experience), the reason that cops get such a chilly reception is that they do "too much protecting" and "not enough serving". That is, usually people only are interacting with a cop if one, they are in trouble, or two, are recently a victim of trouble. If police departments put as much emphasis on the public service announcement schtick, people might react to them with less chill. But, as you point out, they can't perform that function well if people feel chilly towards them. Its a cycle that needs to be broken somewhere, and its easier to change department policy than to spontaneously change the public's attitudes.
Of course, it might also help if police departments changed some of the policies that feed into the disquiet that most people have with their police, such as the 'blue wall', or de facto harrassment, or discouraging legitimate complaints, or not having a system for filing said complaints anonymously. That might help too.
Re:Chicken, meet Egg. (Score:3, Informative)
The Douglas County Sheriff's Department has NOTHING better to do. Seriously. There's a lot of them for a county that's not very big. They also have a reputation for being... shall we say... a little over zealous. (the earlier
Also, there's TONS of open APs in town. Almost the entire county residents are middle class
Re:Crime Rate So Low? (Score:2)
Re:Waste of Time (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Ahh, good police story for a change (Score:2)
Of course this also gives them a public way to say how good it is that they can get people ISP to cooperate with the police. How else are they going to find out who owns what IP?
Re:Last time I checked, (Score:2)
Your last sentence got cut off so I'm reposting it for you:
'But of course I use Windows cos its the best for gamez 'n' warez.'
(Bracing myself for
Re:Last time I checked, (Score:2)
I see people like my parents and their neighbors having open shares on their machines with an open WAP, with tax data and all, and not realizing that the wireless, though convenient, is visible to me from across the
Re:Stupid... (Score:2)