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There have been quite a few cases in India where open WiFi connections have been misused for all kinds of purposes without the knowledge of the owner of the network. In every such case, it is the real owner of the network who has had to face the music from the law enforcement agencies. But the problem is that even if the WiFi network is password-protected there is no guarantee that it will not be misused.
The software for cracking WiFi passwords is easily available on the Internet. A random Google search for WiFi password cracking software will lead you to quite a few links. Why should the original owner of the WiFi be victimised if his connection has been misused without his knowledge? In USA, the courts have already started throwing out cases involving WiFi networks, because the judges have reached the decision that an IP address doesn't necessarily equate a person behind it.
In other words, just because you own an IP address, it does not mean you are the only one who is using it.
A WiFi network is notoriously easy to hack. Case in point is the recent incident from Minnesota, USA, where a man called Barry Ardolf has been sentenced for 18 years for hacking into his neighbours WiFi network in a bid to frame them for child pornography, sexual harassment and intimidation. It is time that the authorities, everywhere in the world, stopped equating an IP address with the person behind it. In any case, today there exist many easily available options by which even IP address can be faked.
In USA, another interesting case related to misuse of WiFi has been filed Indiana Southern District Court. At the centre of this legal dispute is a 70-year-old man who is being accused of peddling pornography over his WiFi network, which incidentally is open. The plaintiff, Hard Drive Productions, which is a producer of adult movies, has listed the defendant's IP address in order to establish that this man is the culprit behind the crime. Hard Drive Productions is seeking unspecified monetary compensation. The old man, however, has penned a letter to the judge arguing that hosting an open WiFi network is not a crime.
In his letter, he quite rightly says, Even not considering the relative ease that an I.P. address can be forged, I do not know if the possibility exists that copyrighted material has been wrongly downloaded at some point from the wireless network in my home which connects to the broadband I pay for. Not all unsecured networks are due to a lack of technical knowledge. Some of us leave them open to friends and others out of a sense of community. An Internet connection is an important thing for people today, for better or for worse.
The points that the defendant in this case is raising are very valid. A person who hosts the WiFi network cannot be held responsible for everyone who misuses it. We dont blame a telecom company if a user misuses his or her mobile connection. The same logic should apply in case of WiFi networks. A person who takes a WiFi network cannot be held responsible if his connection is misused. An IP address can hardly be pinned down on the person who owns the connection. But in that case, who is assigned the blame in case the connection is misused?
Perhaps we need a new system of identifying the end user in various kinds of WiFi networks.
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