General news >> Thursday July 24, 2008 Linking to the net with wi-fi can be risky, police warn
Signal can be hacked, information stolen



The Department of Special Investigation has warned people using electronic devices with wireless and bluetooth functions to be careful of information theft. Patana Sugarasut, senior investigator with the Bureau of High-Tech Crime, said hackers have frequently invaded PCs and stolen personal information from internet users connected via cable to the web.


Now wireless connection to the internet is becoming increasingly popular, with many Thais accessing cyberspace via their mobile phones and other devices both at home and in the work place.


Pol Lt-Col Patana said wireless connections can be hacked into more easily than cable connections.


Pinpointing the theft of information via wireless devices is far more difficult than when computers are connected to the internet via cable, he said.


Police cannot track wireless connection signals between electronic devices.


The signals from most wireless devices spread out over a radius of about 100 metres.


When a computer criminal hacks into a computer via a wireless connection police cannot identify the source of the wireless signal because they cannot identify the direction of the signals between electronic devices.


Producers of wireless devices are continually upgrading their products, he said.


Some have recently launched devices capable of sending a signal a distance 30 to 50 kilometres.


Technology advancement has both positive and negative aspects, Pol Lt-Col Patana said.


The greater the radius of the signal the easier it is to track down and hack into the connection.


Internet users would only know that their information had been stolen after the criminals had used the information and the damage was done, he said.


He also warned users of mobile phones with bluetooth headsets that information in their mobile phones could be stolen while they are actually using the headsets.


Some thieves used notebook computers to steal information from the mobile phones of bluetooth headset users in crowded business or shopping areas, he said.


These had computer software that could locate bluetooth signals. Once the programme found the signal, it would identify both the number of the mobile phone and its owner's name.


The thief would then try sending a short message (SMS) to the mobile so the owner would push a button on the phone, allowing the hacker to connect to it and download the information held inside it, he said.


Pol Lt-Col Patana suggested users of electronic devices with wireless connection systems _ including personal computers, notebooks and mobile phones _ not store their important information on those devices, especially details of financial transactions.


They should also not use wireless devices to make such transactions in public places.

Yeah but don't forget that you can encrypt your wireless signal.

A private wireless should be encrypted. A public wireless signal is just that. Open to the public and not encrypted. Some hotels use a pay system that is encrypted, but anyone who has the code can access the system.

With a good firewall, virus protection, and key stroke encryption you are reasonably safe on a public wireless. I think key stroke encryption is vital because that is the most likely way someone will find access to any secure accounts you might visit while in the public.

On an open wireless connection everything you send and receive can be monitored, and without firewall protection someone can access your computer. If you access a secure site someone could get your user name and password if the keystrokes are not encrypted.

During a stay in a Bangkok hotel I didn't want to pay the cost of their wireless system. There were 6 wireless connections within range of my laptop. Four were encrypted. Two were not. I used those 2 to access the internet for free during my stay there. They were probably either private or small business wireless setups where the owner didn't have the foresight to protect themselves. If I was an IT thief I could have monitored their systems and perhaps stolen valuable private or business information from them.

Your computer may have more personal information than any other single location. It is only prudent to secure it.

Not true! If you go and look at the routers logs, it only gives you basic information. If you go to yahoo and check your mail or surf on it, the router will only say www.yahoo.com, and the associated picture links.

It is very hard to steal wireless information, let alone crack someones wireless WEP system, WPA is harder. Decrypting packets is even harder, but not impossible.

It would be a very rare incident if done. I have not seen any of the WIFI cracking software available for sale in Udon.

just make sure you have file sharing disabled.

If you see a computer named hello kitty, its just me borrowing your WIFI connection