January 16, 2007
WI-FILCHING
With the proliferation of Wi-Fi HotSpots and personal wireless routers, Internet surfers in an urban environment can often turn on their computers and find a dozen different wireless networks available to get online. Astute and security-minded operators of wireless routers can restrict their networks to prevent access from unauthorized users, but I've found that few people do this. In Singapore, simply choosing a wireless network that isn't yours from your available networks list is enough to land one in jail. From a link found at one of The New York Sun's blogs, It Shines For All, there's this AP Report:
SINGAPORE (AP) -- A Singaporean teenager who illegally tapped into a neighbor's wireless Internet network - an offense the city-state deems punishable by jail - was placed on 18 months' probation by a district court Tuesday.
The court also ordered Garyl Tan Jia Luo, 17, to carry out 80 hours of community service after he admitted linking his computer to his neighbor's wireless router to access the Internet without permission.
Tan could have been jailed up to three years and fined 10,000 Singapore dollars (US$6,500).
The judge avoided meting out a jail sentence by noting mitigating circumstances, i.e., the kid is a loser:
Senior District Judge Bala Reddy cited a probation report as saying Tan had been addicted to Internet gaming at the time of the offense, adding the teenager had "few friends, if not none."
Reddy said Tan should seek "disciplined and structured psychiatric and psychological intervention" to cure his addiction.
Whatever he was using the Internet for, it seems strange to me--and probably most Americans who know what WiFi is--that one could land in jail for accessing a wireless network without first asking permission. I wonder if you could charge a neighbor with tresspassing for letting his network wander into your bedroom without permission?
Tagged:Posted by Lexiphane at January 16, 2007 10:40 AM
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