Does anyone agree with broadband theft if the site is not protected?
This week a man was charged with broadband theft by using his wireless laptop to connect to an unsecured service. Surely the owner of the service should have used encryption to prevent unauthorised access?
My view is that, by leaving it unsecured, the service owner is knowingly allowing access to anyone within range and therefore not a criminal offence.
Answers:
I think it is preposterous to arrest someone who links onto an unsecured network. The owner of the network should secure it & unless that person (the owner) calls the police, they should get on with doing what they are paid for, catching real criminals, dealing with the yob culture , children being shot and terrorism.
Do the police in this country not have bigger things to worry about? Do the tax payers not pay enough tax already? All this beaurocracy costs the tax payer.
I agree, you wouldn't knowingly leave your front door unlocked!
I disagree, people should stop being so tight and pay for their own internet subscription!
There are alot of people who have the internet who are probably not even aware that it is possible for someone to use their connection let alone know how to use encryption.
To be honest, I did that at my Daughter's home with her wireless connection and did not know it was unlawful. As you point out, it is simple to prevent others from using another's unsecured service provider but the Law is adamant. Don't do it!
I was very surprised to see the report myself and I feel this will be news to many others.
i under stand your point, but so many people especially the older generation don't know how to use the computer let alone set up secured Internet
theft is theft, this person knew or should have know that he was Stealing service. This is the actions of a criminal and should be tried and if convicted, sentenced to the maximum fines and jail allowed by law.
He was breaking the law. Just because you leave your door open does not make it right for someone to come in and steal things.
But I think it was very petty for prosecutors to charge him. There's plenty enough proper crime for prosecutors to concentrate on.
So,if someone breaks in to your car, you are the one at fault for not having a state of the art alarm, are you?
."broadband theft" says it all..
I agree it was extreme for this man to be charged with using someone elses Broadband connection but at the same time it needs to be an offence because people could steal valuable information. This man was clearly just using the connection to access the Internet, but if there were no laws against this there would be loop-holes whereby people who are genuinally trying to hack into someone's computer via their Broadband Internet connection could just claim they were using it for browsing.
Your right about the person leaving their broadband unsecured - you wouldn't leave your front door wide open now would you whilst away. That is just inviting burglars. The thing is there are many people who do not know how to secure their Internet connection - i think this information needs to be more readily available so people are aware of the dangers!!
It is theft. If you leave your door open, it is not your fault if someone steals from you, it is the fault of the person who took it. Ask the person who was arrested if he thought he had permission to use the service, and he will say no. That means he obtained the service dishonestly, and that is theft
People are entitled to their privacy and listening to other peoples business is immoral of course it does not end there.
What about the potential to steal other peoples identity, just because some body house door is unlocked does not give you the right to enter. because some one is unaware of the dangers and has not taken the right precautions does not give you the right to exploit their naivety.
Look at it this way!
We all leave things in our gardens unprotected except by a garden wall or fence.
We could protect them with barbed wire, but we don't - we trust people to leave them alone.
That's like saying if someone parks there car on the street that it is fair game.
Theft is theft regardless of how secure or unsecure something is!
I thought that was the idea behind wireless conection , so that one could use the internet while out and about
Maybe I'm wrong
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