Published June 25, 2010
Since writing about the Google data mining case, I’ve been wondering just what kind of information we’re broadcasting into the air — and how easy it is to intercept those bits. I called Richard Smith, a software forensics expert in downtown Boston.
Even if you’re on an open, unsecured Wi-Fi network — say, at a coffeeshop or an airport — your most sensitive data is usually still secure, Smith says. That’s because virtually all e-commerce sites and banks encrypt user names, passwords and secret numbers in the Web browser.
The real danger lurks in your e-mail client, he says. Maybe Outlook on Windows, or Mail on Mac OS. Too often those connections aren’t encrypted, and the latte-sipper across from you could be, erm, sniffing your packets.
“An e-mail address and a password can be the keys to the kingdom,” Smith says. With those two bits of information you could break into virtually any site with a “forgotten password” request.
I remember the old days of Wi-Fi. They called it “wardriving” — cruising through a neighborhood, laptop in hand, looking for open wireless networks and using freely available software to see what you can intercept. I was amazed by how insecure people left their data.
“In general I think a lot of people have gotten the message about Wi-Fi security,” Smith says. Most routers now ship with encrypted passwords set by default. But there is still a lot of unencrypted data floating around out there. One of my neighbors — I don’t know who — runs an Apple wireless network wide open. I could easily use software bundled on my Mac to log on, change the settings, add a password and lock the out the owner. I wouldn’t, but I could. Anyone could.
I suggested doing some wardriving myself as a part of a story to demonstrate this — but Smith said I might be breaking federal wiretapping laws. Never mind that idea.
“Try wiretapping yourself,” he suggested. Two computers, a “hacker” and a lovely assistant, all connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
That’s exactly what I am going to do on Monday, when I meet Smith at Downtown Crossing for a little experiment.
