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Schumer: WiFi Provides "Smorgasboard" For Hackers
By
Jaya Saxena
Published Feb 28, 2011
Modified Feb 28, 2011
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By
Jaya Saxena
Published Feb 28, 2011
Modified Feb 28, 2011
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Is your local Starbucks a hotbed of criminal activity? Senator Chuck Schumer sent letters to websites like Twitter and Yahoo to switch their websites from standard HTTP protocol to the secure HTTPS protocol, because hackers have it way too easy finding your information off the WiFi networks in coffee shops and bookstores. He said in a statement, "It is scary how easy it is. Free WiFi networks provide hackers, identity thieves and spammers alike with a smorgasbord of opportunities to steal private user information like passwords, usernames, and credit card information." Otherwise, they'd just come to steal your stuff in person after finding out where you checked in on Facebook.
Schumer notes that programs like Firesheep allow people with almost no programming experience to hack into computers. Even Senators! To demonstrate, he brought reporters to Birch Coffee and had a staffer "hack" into the Twitter account of a colleague whose laptop was also connected to the shop's WiFi. Schumer said, "The bottom line is, if we let this proliferate, everyone is going to pay the price. It could become the leading cause of identity theft." Maybe just watch out for any Schumer staffers the next time you take your laptop for coffee.
Tagged
chuck schumer
hackers
identity theft
wifi
Jaya Saxena
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