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Home WiFi Network Security Failings Exposed

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the passwords-are-for-suckers dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The shocking state of home wireless (Wi-Fi) network security in the UK has been revealed by a life assistance company study. CPP used an 'ethical hacker,' Jason Hart, to test thousands of Wi-Fi networks across six UK cities, including London. He found that many didn't even have a password and roughly half of home UK Wi-Fi networks could be hacked in less than 5 seconds."

3 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. No password may be a feature not a bug by kherr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    There is no way to know if the open wifi networks are open intentionally or not. Just ask Bruce Schneier. Saying they're "open to criminals" is biased, maybe "open to visitors" would be more appropriate. How come coffee shops and other businesses with open wifi aren't called out for letting criminals access the network?

  2. Re:OT Question by mellon · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Yes. Vote in the November election. Lobby your congresscritters to keep the common carrier defense applicable to the Internet.

  3. Lets face it... by Darkness404 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Lets face it, yeah, wi-fi routers can be hacked, yeah, a lot of people don't have secure wi-fi, but in all honesty does it matter to most people? Credit card information already should be encrypted with HTTPS so that wouldn't be sniffed, most sites let you use security to log in, etc.

    --
    Taxation is legalized theft, no more, no less.