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InfoWorld ethicist lukewarm on warchalking, but relying on media accounts linking it to thievery: Here's my open letter to him (sent to the email address as well):
I read your InfoWorld article on warchalking and felt compelled to correct an assumption you'd made. I write about wireless quite a lot (including a feature in this week's cover date InfoWorld) and filed a piece on warchalking for the New York Times in July.
Warchalking isn't as tied into wardialing as the FBI, British Telecom, and others would have you believe.
In fact, reports indicate the phenomenon is not very widespread, and is being used primarily by community networkers and others who offer open access to their networks to mark service as more of a badge of honor or presence.
There's no way to know comprehensively, only anecdotally, but I am in regular contact with hundreds of people in the wireless industry and community wireless world.
The only place I hear about these stories on warchalking that relate to stealing access from open, but not shared APs -- accidentally shared, I suppose is accurate -- is via law enforcement without any specific locations mentioned, arrests made, or even photos of the offending marks.
I think you've been taken in by the sheer quantity of articles that have made the case against warchalking without evaluating whether people are actually chalking much at all, and how they're using it, and whether it's even measurable.
Warchalking was what I like to call a "pre-fad": it was taken over by the media before it was even spotted in the wild after a single person came up with the idea on his Web site. It's cool, it's fun, but it's hardly what you made it out to be, I'm afraid.
Other News
Wireless LAN security workshops: I noticed a banner ad for a WLAN security seminar in Seattle on The Seattle Times Web site. It led me to a very cogent description of the current state of standards, and how they'll be covered in this day-long set of lectures and demonstrations. It will also take place in Denver and Dallas during November. I don't know the people involved, but the overview is obviously written by an expert who understands the inner details. If the seminar is as good as the outline, this is a must-attend event for anyone involved in WLAN security.
Wi-Fi Alliance revamps certification display: This clever move on the Wi-Fi Alliance's part clarifies what the Wi-Fi mark means without reducing its impact. This is the template, obviously, for solving the alphabet soup problem that will occur in 2003 when devices could comply with a, b, e, g, h, and i, among other specs, in a single piece of equipment.