Wi-Fi users in Pune not safety-savvy

With wi-fi (wireless Internet) users not paying heed to the appeals to secure their connections, the cyber crime cell of the city police have now decided to crack the whip. They are planning to issue a notice under section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to all Wi-Fi users to secure their connections.

It would lodge complaints under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, against those who fail to adhere to the notice sent by the police.

Deputy commissioner of police (cyber crime), Rajendra Dahale told DNA, “Initially, we will send notices to the connection holder and also give guidelines to take precautions. But if the users ignore our instructions, we will lodge complaints against them in the police stations,’’ he added.

According to assistant police inspector of cyber crime cell, Sanjay Tungar, the police have been conducting surveys in the last three years and found that there are many unsafe Wi-Fi connections in the city, including those in three- and five-star hotels.
“We have made efforts to create awareness on the need to make such connections secure and the steps that one should take to make it safe. But the users are not taking the issue seriously. In 2009, the police found that 81% of Wi-Fi connections were vulnerable. In last year’s survey, 78% of the connections were found unsafe,’’ he added.

About 6% of the Wi-Fi connections were found to be protected with wireless equivalent privacy (WEP) and the police said it was possible to crack the passwords of these connections within 15
minutes.

“Only 16% of total Wi-Fi connections in the city were protected with the Wi-Fi protected access (WPA2),’’ police officials said.
Citizens have been told to use MAC address filtration system to prevent the use of Wi-Fi connections by strangers. They should also restrict the range of their Wi-Fi connections and shut down the wireless router when the connection is not in use.