Australian police go wardriving to close down unsecured Wi-Fi networks

Next time the Queensland, Australia police knock on your door, don’t worry, they’re there to just educate you about the dangers of unsecured Wi-Fi in your home.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the Queensland Police fraud squad have decided to turn a very serious towards unsecured wireless networks to try to prevent crimes from possibly happening. An unknown number of officers will begin patroling residential streets to sniff out unsecured wireless networks, an act known as ‘wardriving’ amongst hackers.

While it may not sound like a serious threat, it is. If someone is able to gain unauthorized access to your network, they may be able to commit identity theft, access sensitive files on your computers, or even use your Internet account to send out viruses and spam emails. None of these acts will end pleasently for the person with the unsecured network, but the good news is that in Queensland, the mere act of accessing someone elses broadband connection without permission is illegal. While catching people in the act is difficult, this is where the movement for preverntion by the police comes in.