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Drive-By Hacking in London
delibes writes "The BBC News website carries this story about hacking wireless networks in London's financial centre. " There isn't really much in the way of details, just saying that many businesses don't encrypt their networks. They talk about finding 12 networks while driving 1km... 8 of which had no encryption.
You've never used CB, have you? It's "ten-four" or "roger".
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The thing that you have to understand about the UK is that there really is a history of these things been put in place and then not used, through apathy, budget constraints, or good old fashioned incompetence.
The omnipresent cameras are useless for identifying individuals; all they are used for is to grab grainy, wobbly pictures of suspects that identify height, clothing (maybe) and gender (if you're lucky) which are then splashed all over tabloids and the TV as part of appeals for actual eye witnesses to come forward.
A few more examples. The UK has had a DMCA since 1988, but few people know about it, because it's never been used. The RIP act, that mandates prison sentences if you fail to hand over encryption keys, is again a paper tiger because the Home Office doesn't have the budget to train anyone in its use. In fact, the police already suffer from having a surfeit of powers.
There was a case last year of a young student who went missing, sparking a nationwide hunt for her. She (or someone purporting to be her) sent an email from an internet cafe claiming that she was all right. The police eventually found her not by tracking back the message through the headers to find the cafe (a 30 second process), or through cameras, or through any technological procedure. Instead, they guessed where she was by looking at her past history, then blanketed the area with police handing out leaflets to cybercafes, until they got a response from an owner, then they staked it out until she turned up again.
So, sure, the UK has Draconian laws (but I'm sure the US will catch up), and sure, open networks and all that, but on the other hand, blurgh, it's a typical wet and windy British night tonight, and the Evil Things will be tucked up all warm and cosy in bed, not prowling the land looking for innocents to molest. ;-)
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Really hurting for new content these days, huh?
It's amazing how Americans complain about the cameras in the UK, they entrust their officers with guns which could lead you being shot dead either intentionally or otherwise, now that is potentially a pretty big infringement of your liberties (right to life), yet when people talk about cameras and the worse case senario it doesn't even come close to killing people.
British police don't have guns yet have access to cameras, US police could kill you in the spot yet don't have access to cameras. By having a polcie force you inevitably give up some of your liberties and expose yourself potential abuses of those rights, which has more potential for abuse... side arms or cameras?
This is why when people start bleating on about the cameras here, the contradictions really make me laugh, oh the hypocrisy.
You paint a quite sad picture of the UK - in fact it is funny to compare how negative UK citizens are about their country compaired to a typical American's blind patriotism for his!
One thing that I think makes the UK a great place is the very high level of integrity of its people. Generally speaking, the Brits are a very decent lot who usually "do the right thing". Even those in positions of power, which believe me is not true in many countries. This might explain
why Brits feel safe with government controlled cameras in the streets, but many Americans would be unhappy with the situation.
I actually think that the US people are the best and greatest in the world.
Followed by:
Unfortunately, we have both relapsed into having governments composed of a professional political class (an hereditary one at the executive level in both cases)
And the USA is better? Er, Bush Jnr, Bush Snr? The Kennedies?
I look at what we (Britain) are contributing to in Afghanistan
Yes, with the USA. You seen to be confused. You hate the UK and love the USA in areas where they are equally bad. I suggest you try Australia.
Seeing as how democracy in the U.S. is quite broken, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the UK's version operates slightly better. That still doesn't mean people shouldn't have a right to privacy!
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The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason. --Ben Franklin