Stone Press

In the fight against ‘wardrivers’, people who are involved in active search, logging and collection of data on access points for wireless connections to hep wireless internet piggybackers, the Queensland Police have decided to launch a new campaign to identify insecure networks in different areas.

The police have decided to follow the same course as that taken by these wardrivers to locate these networks. After finding an insecure network, they plan to caution the owner of the router about the potential risks of such unsecured connections. This would not only prevent piggybacking, but also make sure that the attention of negligent owners is driven towards the security of their mobile broadband devices (for mobile broadband information, advice and offers click on pay as you go mobile broadband).

Detective Superintendent Brian Hay of Queensland Police told iTnews that the scheme has been formulated on similar lines as the previous police campaigns regarding the safety of cars at railway stations. The officers used to walk around the stations to see whether the cars had been properly locked or not, and if an unlocked car was found, they would leave a warning note cautioning the owners of the potential dangers of the same.

DS Hay was recently honoured with a McAfee International Cybercrime Fighter Award. He admitted that the problem is not a small one, but there is a need for scanning the environment first. Hay is also of the belief that the scheme would not be heavy on the pockets of taxpayers, as the implementation of the scheme needs minimal resources and has a great likelihood of success. The exercise involves selection of small geographical locations and scanning them. Then the problem would be highlighted through the media and corrective steps would be taken regarding the same.