Colorado Sheriffs To WarDrive For Safety 297
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."
don't they have something better to do? (Score:5, Informative)
You can find the statistics here [dcsheriff.net]
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
Re:how long (Score:3, Informative)
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.
Re:Chicken, meet Egg. (Score:3, Informative)
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
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.
Comment removed (Score:2, Informative)