Terror Suspects Used 'Wardriving' and Un-Secure Wireless Access Points in India Bombing

Terror Suspects Used 'Wardriving' and Un-Secure Wireless Access Points in India Bombing

Securing wireless LANs has to be a priority to help protect the US national security posture. Insecure wireless networks allow malicious individual to access a communication media, conduct illegal activities and remain undetected.

Techniques like wardriving are prime examples on how this can occur. Wardriving is the act of searching for Wi-Fi wireless networks by a person in a moving vehicle, using a portable computer.

Unfortunately, this technique in conjunction with non-secured wireless access points may have aided in the recent terrorist attacks in India.

A recent report stated:

After discovering that a militant group allegedly responsible for a series of bombings there recently may have sent their warning emails of the attacks via unsecured wireless LANs.

The police said the suspects used WiFi scanners to detect open WiFi networks and then remotely sent their email messages from those networks, claiming responsibility in advance of bombings in Delhi and Ahmedabad.

My view on this matter is employing better education and monitoring on wireless equipment at the user and ISP level. Also vendors should have the equipment shipped security closed as compared to open. This would allow the user to think about security as the equipment is being installed and configured.