Seattle Police Say 'wardrivers' Are Hitting Small Businesses

[Infiltrator]

Seattle police are investigating a group of criminals who they say have been cruising around town in a black Mercedes stealing credit card data by tapping into wireless networks belonging to area businesses.

Source: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/042211-seattle-police-say-wardrivers-are.html?hpg1=bn

I think its time for those small businesses to stop about thinking of only making money and starting hiring professionals to secure their computer networks.

[dr0p]

Lol and how exactly have they pinpointed that people in a black mercedes are doing this?

[cgront]

This reminds me of the fact that people are stupid and need to learn about technology before they can use it.

[digip]

War driving is nothing more than driving around and mapping access points. Accessing them and committing a crime such as stealing network data, credit card numbers, etc, is NOT war driving.

[Infiltrator]

Lol and how exactly have they pinpointed that people in a black mercedes are doing this?

I would become very suspicious if I saw always, a black tinted window car, driving or stopped around my neighborhood.

I think that's what made them a target for the police.

Edited April 25, 2011 by Infiltrator

[dr0p]

I would become very suspicious if I saw always, a black tinted window car, driving or stopped around my neighborhood.

I think that's what made them a target for the police.

Where does it say the windows were tinted? Personally I'd just assume they lived or worked in the area...

[Infiltrator]

Where does it say the windows were tinted? Personally I'd just assume they lived or worked in the area...

If you read the article, you will see the following line.

"Except for the front, all windows in the car were heavily tinted, making it difficult to see what was going on inside."

[Mr-Protocol]

This isnt a new thing. Happens even on WEP networks and can on WPA. TJ Maxx I think was the big one hit like 6 years ago...

[psydT0ne]

Network/syndicated media is like a schoolyard bully...the more attention you give them the more they feed off it.

[Infiltrator]

This isnt a new thing. Happens even on WEP networks and can on WPA. TJ Maxx I think was the big one hit like 6 years ago...

As long as you use WPA2 with long and complex pass-phrases you should be secure.

And this is what those small businesses are lacking, IT education.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Infiltrator

[dr0p]

As long as you use WPA2 with long and complex pass-phrases you should be secure.

And this is what those small businesses are lacking, IT education.

My high school was as well ;D

[Infiltrator]

My high school was as well ;D

This type of attack can so easily be mitigated. And I don't blame those war drivers, in fact they may be doing something illegal but they are definitely doing it for a cause. To alert people of the importance of using WPA instead of WEP or no encryption at all.

[joeypesci]

Next time I see a black Mercedes I'm calling the Fuzz!

[bibbinut]

This sounds like something I saw in a movie the other night. Will be watching out for black Mercedes! LOL

[Infiltrator]

This sounds like something I saw in a movie the other night. Will be watching out for black Mercedes! LOL

It doesn't necessarily need to be a black vehicle, it can be any type of vehicle, as long as they don't look too suspicious, as the one in the article above.

Edited April 27, 2011 by Infiltrator