[X4U] Man arrested for using Open Wireless network (was Re: Wireless "theft" )

[Judi Sohn]

On 7/7/05, David Flory <daflory at speakeasy.net> wrote:

> look at California Penal Code Section 502c which says in part:
> 
> "(2) Knowingly accesses and without permission takes, copies, or
> makes use of any data from a computer, computer system, or computer
> network, or takes or copies any supporting documentation, whether
> existing or residing internal or external to a computer, computer
> system, or computer network.
>   (3) Knowingly and without permission uses or causes to be used
> computer services."
> 
> That's a crime with some heavy max. penalties listed.
> 

But weren't a lot of those laws written long before anyone knew what
"wifi" was? Seems to me that was written about the old-fashioned
"hacking" and doesn't account for someone using a connection the
Internet only for the connection to the Internet and not to touch any
files or data. For all you know when you jump on an unsecured network
it's just a wireless router connected to the Internet via cable modem
or similar means and there's no other computer involved which would
negate every line in that code. There's a distinction, and laws need
to be reworded to account for that distinction.

I know I read somewhere some time ago about a state that specifically
said (or had legislation on the table that said) that an unsecured
network was as good as an invitation, and a secured network was
protected under the law.

-- 
Judi Sohn, judi at momathome.com
Mom at Home Design, http://www.momathome.com
AIM: JudiS217