Student Publications
University of Houston
151C Communications Bldg
Houston, TX 77204-4015
713.743.5350

©1991-2007
Student Publications,
All rights reserved.

Last modified:

Contact:
ktruitt@uh.edu

Opinion

Internet security needs not met

Micheal Goetz
Opinion Columnist 

Well, thanks to whoever named his wireless network "bigsexy," I am able to finish this article just under deadline. You see, I am legally committing a crime right now to bring my pearls of literary wit to you, the reader. I'm not afraid of being arrested; I'll just drive away as soon as I finish this paragraph.

The explosion of wireless Internet routers has created a massive playground for all manner of persons of ill repute. In Toronto, a half-naked man was arrested in his car while downloading child pornography using a hijacked wireless access point. He was stopped for a traffic infraction only to be discovered in his nude state. Had it not been for a lucky traffic stop, the owner of the wireless connection could have been prosecuted for child pornography crimes instead of the real criminal.

The digital age is here, and there are plenty of people with the knowledge to take advantage of the lazy or the ill-informed. According to WorldWide WarDrive, a volunteer group of wireless security surveyors, more than two-thirds of over 88,100 access points they found were left completely unsecured. While Congress is still debating exactly how to enforce security on the Internet without violating constitutional privacy rights, many private organizations are taking matters into their own hands. The developers of Canoa Ranch Resort in Tuscon, Ariz., have put wireless security into their community by-laws. Residents who fail to secure their wireless networks could face fines and maybe even eviction in extreme cases.

I'm in favor of securing electronics, but I think this may go a bit further than is legally allowed. Several states have recently begun to put pressure on public and commercial locations to secure networks "or else." The real problem, however, is that you cannot force privacy. Putting the burden of security on the access point owner may not be the answer.

The real criminals are the ones hijacking the airwaves. If a person wants to leave his Internet access open for all to use, then he should not be held liable for those who misuse the access. I relate it to the current battles between the Department of Justice and the major Internet service providers. Wireless owners are merely smaller models of a bigger problem.

We need better enforcement of the Internet, not at the access points. Active hounds searching the Internet looking for criminal behavior is much better than simply requesting a subpoena for server logs. Many times people stumble across content that seems illegal, only to wonder why the authorities have yet to get involved.

It is every citizen's civic duty to ensure they are not actively assisting criminal activity. Citizens should not have to suit up in body armor every day to walk down the street, so it shouldn't be any different on the Internet.

A combination of security education and better practices in network investigation would go a long way to making the Internet a safer place. The burden should be on the government to provide this security and not the private citizen. Simply making laws that punish people for not securing a private property location is not the answer.

Goetz, an Opinion columnist for The Daily Cougar, 
can be reached at mpgoetz@gmail.com