Slashdot Mirror


Colorado Sheriffs To WarDrive For Safety

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."

4 of 297 comments (clear)

  1. don't they have something better to do? by Ralph+Spoilsport · · Score: 4, Informative
    According to their OWN statistics, crime in Douglas county is on the increase, some of it quite serious, and these mutton heads want to go around wasting resources looking for open networks.

    You can find the statistics here

    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

    --
    Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
  2. Re:how long by Roskolnikov · · Score: 3, Informative

    If the FBI shows up looking for kiddie porn and you've got it I suspect they're not worried about the anonymous individuals who might have got their attention from your free WAP.

    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 given a QOS restraint that is no more than 20% of my bandwidth, casual users have little
    care, bandwidth hogs need to look elsewhere.

    As a Colorado resident I am kind of upset about the waste of taxpayer funds, it isn't illegal to leave a WAP open...... they're wardriving and its ok?
    Are they working with the ISP to track to IP? Is the ISP giving away customer information without a warrant?

    unsecured base stations/routers are one thing, free access is another.

    On another note, the three Police officers within range of my WAP are quite happy its open.

    The war on citizens continues.

    --
    Unix, an obscure operating system developed by bored researchers in an attempt to get a better game playing experience.
  3. Re:Chicken, meet Egg. by TheJediGeek · · Score: 3, Informative
    Well, since I LIVE in Douglas County, Colorado, I think I have a valid opinion.
    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 /. story from NH would fit right in here) This is the type of law enforcement that WOULD take this too far.
    Also, there's TONS of open APs in town. Almost the entire county residents are middle class or higher. One time I loaded up Netstumbler and drove half a mile away. I think I saw 30 some APs, 20 some of which were open.

    I'm glad that my AP is secured, but I also know the sheriff's department. I'm sure many people I know will end up being harassed over this. Looks like I've got some work to do in getting everyone's APs secure.

  4. Re:Observations from WarBussing by Ash-Fox · · Score: 2, Informative
    As an experiment, I once spent an entire bus ride home repeatedly scanning for wireless networks on my DS.
    And can you tell us for sure they didn't they have mac filtering? They didn't they use a VPN gateway? They didn't they use IPSec?
    --
    Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.