Thomas the Solitary
03-25-2008, 01:38 AM
Holy Shit. Our police chief in Sparta -- looks like he's a DICK.
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9722006-7.html?tag=tb
May 22, 2007
A Michigan man who used a coffee shop's unsecured Wi-Fi to check his e-mail from his car could have faced up to five years in prison, according to local TV station WOOD (http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6546307). But it seems few in the village of Sparta, Mich., were aware that using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection without the owner's permission--a practice known as piggybacking--was a felony.
Each day around lunch time, Sam Peterson would drive to the Union Street Cafe, park his car and--without actually entering the coffee shop--check his e-mail and surf the Net. His ritual raised the suspicions of Police Chief Andrew Milanowski, who approached him and asked what he was doing. Peterson, probably not realizing that his actions constituted a crime, freely admitted what he was doing.
"I knew that the Union Street had Wi-Fi. I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that," Peterson told a WOOD reporter.
Milanowski didn't immediately cite or arrest Peterson, mostly because he wasn't certain a crime had been committed. "I had a feeling a law was being broken," the chief said. Milanowski did some research and found Michigan's "Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks" law, a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Milanowski, who eventually swore out a warrant for Peterson, doesn't believe Milanowski knew he was breaking the law. "In my opinion, probably not. Most people probably don't."
Indeed, neither did Donna May, the owner of the Union Street Cafe. "I didn't know it was really illegal, either," she told the TV station. "If he would have come in (to the coffee shop), it would have been fine."
But apparently prosecutors were more than aware of the 1979 law, which was revised in 2000 to include protections for Wi-Fi networks.
"This is the first time that we've actually charged it," Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Hopkins said, adding that "we'd been hoping to dodge this bullet for a while."
However, Peterson won't be going to prison for piggybacking. Because he has no prior record, Peterson will have to pay a $400 fine, do 40 hours of community service and enroll in the county's diversion program.
======================================
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6546307
SPARTA -- It's a lunch hour ritual at the Re-Union Street Café. Customers regularly log onto the internet using the café's wireless network to check their e-mail and surf the web while they enjoy the coffee and ambience.
Sam Peterson II did the same thing. "I knew that the Union Street had WiFi," he told 24 Hour News 8. "I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that."
But Peterson did it everyday, and from his car. He drove up, parked, and piggybacked onto the Union Street network.
Piggybacking - using someone else's WiFi without their permission - isn't legal. Sparta Police Chief Andrew Milanowski was suspicious of what Peterson was doing in his car every day and talked with him.
He didn't issue a ticket, but he did hit the books. "I had a feeling a law was being broken," the chief said, "but I didn't know exactly what." He found a relatively new and rarely used law. "Unauthorized use of computer access," he said.
Michigan lawmakers put it on the books in 1979 to protect the public from computer hackers. It was revised in 2000 to include the protection of WiFi systems. Under Michigan law, access a computer system without authorization and you're committing a crime.
A warrant was sworn for Peterson's arrest on a "five year felony, $10,000 fine," he said. "I would have never guessed."
Milanowski doesn't believe Peterson knew he was breaking the law. "In my opinion, probably not. Most people probably don't."
Neither did the coffee shop owner Donna May. "I didn't know it was really illegal, either," she told 24 Hour News 8. "If he would have come in (to the coffee shop) it would have been fine."
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Hopkins said, "This is the first time that we've actually charged it," and it could be the only case of its kind in the state. "Oh, we'd been hoping to dodge this bullet for a while. We had not been looking for this," she said. "We knew it would come up eventually and we'd have to make a decision as to how to deal with it."
24 Hour News 8 investigated the number of prosecutions - and found only a handful of WiFi freeloaders prosecuted worldwide.
But it was inevitable with all the hotspots and businesses providing WiFi access. In the US alone, an estimated 16 million homes are now equipped.
The only way to catch a piggybacker is to catch someone, like Peterson, in the act "because 90 percent of the time we wouldn't know, frankly, that it's going on," Hopkins said.
New York's Westchester County is trying a different tack. Their local government said it's up to WiFi subscribers to protect themselves against piggybackers. Businesses were told to secure their networks or pay a fine.
Hopkins doesn't agree with that tactic. "It's the same attitude of somehow the victim's responsible for preventing the crime, and that's not the approach that our justice system takes."
Increasing security awareness isn't a bad idea, though. Some argue WiFi is a broadcast and the airwaves are open to the public.
In a February 2007 Target 8 Investigation (http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6025528&nav=menu44_2), a drive through city streets exposed vulnerable WiFi hookups, available to anyone looking to surf the web or check their e-mail.
As a first-time offender without a prior record, the Kent County prosecutor's office decided not to charge Peterson with a felony. Instead, he'll be enrolled in the county's diversion program.
He'll pay a $400 fine and do 40 hours of community service, but it will not go on his record.
The prosecutor's offices said not everyone who gets caught breaking the law will be given this option. Offenders will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
The next time you're tempted, though, think of Sam Peterson. "People need to know that this isn't legal and if you get caught there are some pretty serious consequences."
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9722006-7.html?tag=tb
May 22, 2007
A Michigan man who used a coffee shop's unsecured Wi-Fi to check his e-mail from his car could have faced up to five years in prison, according to local TV station WOOD (http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6546307). But it seems few in the village of Sparta, Mich., were aware that using an unsecured Wi-Fi connection without the owner's permission--a practice known as piggybacking--was a felony.
Each day around lunch time, Sam Peterson would drive to the Union Street Cafe, park his car and--without actually entering the coffee shop--check his e-mail and surf the Net. His ritual raised the suspicions of Police Chief Andrew Milanowski, who approached him and asked what he was doing. Peterson, probably not realizing that his actions constituted a crime, freely admitted what he was doing.
"I knew that the Union Street had Wi-Fi. I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that," Peterson told a WOOD reporter.
Milanowski didn't immediately cite or arrest Peterson, mostly because he wasn't certain a crime had been committed. "I had a feeling a law was being broken," the chief said. Milanowski did some research and found Michigan's "Fraudulent access to computers, computer systems, and computer networks" law, a felony punishable by five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Milanowski, who eventually swore out a warrant for Peterson, doesn't believe Milanowski knew he was breaking the law. "In my opinion, probably not. Most people probably don't."
Indeed, neither did Donna May, the owner of the Union Street Cafe. "I didn't know it was really illegal, either," she told the TV station. "If he would have come in (to the coffee shop), it would have been fine."
But apparently prosecutors were more than aware of the 1979 law, which was revised in 2000 to include protections for Wi-Fi networks.
"This is the first time that we've actually charged it," Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Hopkins said, adding that "we'd been hoping to dodge this bullet for a while."
However, Peterson won't be going to prison for piggybacking. Because he has no prior record, Peterson will have to pay a $400 fine, do 40 hours of community service and enroll in the county's diversion program.
======================================
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6546307
SPARTA -- It's a lunch hour ritual at the Re-Union Street Café. Customers regularly log onto the internet using the café's wireless network to check their e-mail and surf the web while they enjoy the coffee and ambience.
Sam Peterson II did the same thing. "I knew that the Union Street had WiFi," he told 24 Hour News 8. "I just went down and checked my e-mail and didn't see a problem with that."
But Peterson did it everyday, and from his car. He drove up, parked, and piggybacked onto the Union Street network.
Piggybacking - using someone else's WiFi without their permission - isn't legal. Sparta Police Chief Andrew Milanowski was suspicious of what Peterson was doing in his car every day and talked with him.
He didn't issue a ticket, but he did hit the books. "I had a feeling a law was being broken," the chief said, "but I didn't know exactly what." He found a relatively new and rarely used law. "Unauthorized use of computer access," he said.
Michigan lawmakers put it on the books in 1979 to protect the public from computer hackers. It was revised in 2000 to include the protection of WiFi systems. Under Michigan law, access a computer system without authorization and you're committing a crime.
A warrant was sworn for Peterson's arrest on a "five year felony, $10,000 fine," he said. "I would have never guessed."
Milanowski doesn't believe Peterson knew he was breaking the law. "In my opinion, probably not. Most people probably don't."
Neither did the coffee shop owner Donna May. "I didn't know it was really illegal, either," she told 24 Hour News 8. "If he would have come in (to the coffee shop) it would have been fine."
Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Lynn Hopkins said, "This is the first time that we've actually charged it," and it could be the only case of its kind in the state. "Oh, we'd been hoping to dodge this bullet for a while. We had not been looking for this," she said. "We knew it would come up eventually and we'd have to make a decision as to how to deal with it."
24 Hour News 8 investigated the number of prosecutions - and found only a handful of WiFi freeloaders prosecuted worldwide.
But it was inevitable with all the hotspots and businesses providing WiFi access. In the US alone, an estimated 16 million homes are now equipped.
The only way to catch a piggybacker is to catch someone, like Peterson, in the act "because 90 percent of the time we wouldn't know, frankly, that it's going on," Hopkins said.
New York's Westchester County is trying a different tack. Their local government said it's up to WiFi subscribers to protect themselves against piggybackers. Businesses were told to secure their networks or pay a fine.
Hopkins doesn't agree with that tactic. "It's the same attitude of somehow the victim's responsible for preventing the crime, and that's not the approach that our justice system takes."
Increasing security awareness isn't a bad idea, though. Some argue WiFi is a broadcast and the airwaves are open to the public.
In a February 2007 Target 8 Investigation (http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6025528&nav=menu44_2), a drive through city streets exposed vulnerable WiFi hookups, available to anyone looking to surf the web or check their e-mail.
As a first-time offender without a prior record, the Kent County prosecutor's office decided not to charge Peterson with a felony. Instead, he'll be enrolled in the county's diversion program.
He'll pay a $400 fine and do 40 hours of community service, but it will not go on his record.
The prosecutor's offices said not everyone who gets caught breaking the law will be given this option. Offenders will be judged on a case-by-case basis.
The next time you're tempted, though, think of Sam Peterson. "People need to know that this isn't legal and if you get caught there are some pretty serious consequences."