Wardrivers: check it

[Mirlyn]

Just posted on /. about 30 mins ago:

Licensed to War Drive in N.H.
By Brian McWilliams
02:00 AM Apr. 29, 2003 PT

DURHAM, New Hampshire -- A land where white pines easily outnumber wireless computer users, New Hampshire may seem an unlikely haven for the free networking movement.

But the state, known for its Live Free or Die motto, could become the first in the United States to provide legal protection for people who tap into insecure wireless networks.

A bill that's breezing through New Hampshire's legislature says operators of wireless networks must secure them -- or lose some of their ability to prosecute anyone who gains access to the networks.

House Bill 495 would, experts say, effectively legalize many forms of what's known as war driving -- motoring through an inhabited area while scanning for open wireless access points.

Full Story: http://www.wired.com/news/wireless/0,1382,58651,00.html


Inaccurate, yet interesting...

 

[octal]

I think it's the right direction to go. It puts the responsibility of operating a network on the owner of the network, where it should be. It would legalize wardriving, or "accessing public networks" because if the network owner (or admin) would be completely responsible for making his/her network private if he/she doesn't want outside access. Although, unwanted intrustions wouldn't be protected by any bills...they would be treated as any other attacks on network infrastructure, although they would be almost impossible to trace realistically.