How Secure Is Your Wireless Security..

Galen

Hacker charged with threatening US VP using neighbour's PC


A hacker tried to frame his neighbour by tapping into his Wi-Fi and sending threatening emails to US vice president Joe Biden, according to search warrant affidavits unsealed last week.

Computer expert Barry Ardolf, 45, is charged with using someone else's computer to send a threatening email to Biden. However, the affidavits reveal years of disputes between Ardolf and neighbours from different areas he's lived in.

Ardolf, of Blaine, Minneapolis, had been using his tech skills to harass his current neighbours, according to the affidavits filed by FBI Special Agent Robert Cameron. As well as the Biden emails, he's alleged to have sent indecent images of children to his neighbour's work colleagues, using fake email accounts he'd set up in the neighbours' name. He's also alleged to have stolen personal information and sent offensive messages.


This is an example of his email style. "I was thinking of you on Valentines Day. I wouldn't mind at all if you wanted to sneak me a kiss when nobody is looking. Remember what Bill Clinton finally fessed up to? I want that from you!"


The neighbour also had a MySpace page set up in his name that also contained child pornography, and asked whether there were "any ladies looking for a good time, I'm married but my spouse bites big time".
The threat to Biden read, in part: "This is a terrorist threat! Take this seriously. I hate the way you people are spending money you don't have ... I'm assigning myself to be judge, jury and executioner. Since you folks have spent what you don't have, it's time to pay the ultimate price."


Fed investigators chased the messages to Ardolf by tracing devices tapping into his neighbours' Wi-Fi. This led to the FBI seizing multiple computers, hard drives and routers following a search of Ardolf's home in July 2009. Social Security numbers, dates of birth, income information and the address for Ardolf's former neighbours where he lived several years ago were found.


Ardolf was charged with one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of threats to the president and successors to the presidency. He is scheduled to appear in federal court this week. ®

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/14/ardolf_charged/

BaconZombie

Mine is open, so as secure as any other....

Gavin

WPA2-PSK with a good passphrase is strong, unless you know otherwise?

old_aussie

Gavin wrote: »

WPA2-PSK with a good passphrase is strong, unless you know otherwise?

That's what I use.

3 x PC's plus PS3, all working securely.

Galen

I use WPA2-PSK too but It doesn't hurt to be reminded once in a while to watch your neighbour is up to. :-D

SouperComputer

LOL Blaine is about 20mins from where I live...Been occupied with the nurse's strike so I missed this...

Dude111

These nieghbours are VERY LUCKY the feds listenend to them and looked further WITHOUT BLAMING THEM!!!!!! (usually they always take the easier route)

Stupid idiot!!!!! (I hope they have secured thier WiFi like crazy now!!)

corkcomp

WPA2-PSK + mac address filtering

SolarNexus

I leave mine open, so long as people aren't naughty I don't mind them using it. I have my 'important network' as it were behind a wired network with various firewalls/gateways in the way anyway.

I take the view that if it happens in the air, its open to abuse (sniffing, cracking, etc.) if neighbors or casual passers by need to check an email, I wouldn't begrudge them.

On the whole, WPA2 is slowly taking over WEP, but there are still an awful lot of WEP AP's out there that have horrendously easy attack vectors. Thank you Eircom.

wolfric

If you're horribly paranoid just go with wpa2 802.1 (no pass phrase just an encryption key)

At the moment even with wpa2, it's still vulnerable to a dictionary attack and/or a brute force although if you choose something particularly difficult it's a shot in the dark to crack it.

RangeR

Private : WPA2 PSK with 22 char random alphanumeric non dictionary password.

Public : Open FON spot with no access to internal network fully logged Date/Time/MAC. Leaves me with the opton deniable accountability if anyone abuses my public. DA may not work with the police, though