looking for documented laws regarding wifi

[pik4chu]

to make a long story short we were having a discussion in the office a few weeks back regarding wireless and the legal issues surrounding unsecured networks. For most of us the last we recall was if you did not have permission to use a wireless network then this was theft of service and unauthorized access to a person's network. Well we had concluded that discussion for a while so we could find hard evidece and that is why I'm here, I know they exist (if atleast on a state level) so I was wondering if anyone had any quick links to these laws/regulations regarding use of wireless communications and where the line is drawn between fair use(so to speak) and illegal (or even malicious) use.

Another thing would be, while I have heard it mention but most of the time I viewed it as just anti-xxx smokescreens what does the law say about honeypots(any forms). for reference I live in colorado, thanks

 

[Captain Newbie]

18 USC 1030 (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986), courtesy of Cornell Law:

(5)
(A)
(i) knowingly causes the transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally causes damage without authorization, to a protected computer;
(ii) intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, recklessly causes damage; or
(iii) intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, causes damage; and
(B) by conduct described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A), caused (or, in the case of an attempted offense, would, if completed, have caused)—
(i) loss to 1 or more persons during any 1-year period (and, for purposes of an investigation, prosecution, or other proceeding brought by the United States only, loss resulting from a related course of conduct affecting 1 or more other protected computers) aggregating at least $5,000 in value;
(ii) the modification or impairment, or potential modification or impairment, of the medical examination, diagnosis, treatment, or care of 1 or more individuals;
(iii) physical injury to any person;
(iv) a threat to public health or safety; or
(v) damage affecting a computer system used by or for a government entity in furtherance of the administration of justice, national defense, or national security;

Additionally, in the People's Republic of California (Chapter 5 California Penal Code Section 502):

(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following
meanings:
(1) "Access" means to gain entry to, instruct, or communicate with the
logical, arithmetical, or memory function resources of a computer, computer
system, or computer network.
[...]
(c) Except as provided in subdivision (h), any person who commits any of the
following acts is guilty of a public offense:
(1) Knowingly accesses and without permission alters, damages, deletes,
destroys, or otherwise uses any data, computer, computer system, or computer
network in order to either (A) devise or execute any scheme or artifice to
defraud, deceive, or extort, or (B) wrongfully control or obtain money,
property, or data.
(2) Knowingly accesses and without permission takes, copies, or makes use of
any data from a computer, computer system, or computer network, or takes or
copies any supporting documentation, whether existing or residing internal or
external to a computer, computer system, or computer network.
(3) Knowingly and without permission uses or causes to be used computer services.

Emphasis added. This is the one that will nail you for unauthorized wireless use in California--not a Federal law, unless you happen to be poking around a *FEDERAL* unsecured wireless network. (Crimes against the Federal government are not surprisingly almost always prosecuted under Federal law.)

Your state will vary - please click here for details of your state, if your state has such laws.

 

[pik4chu]

Thats what I thought and thanks for the link, wasnt sure of what law it was.