12/05/2012

Unsecured Wifi: Nothing is Truly Private

By Jeffrey Antonelli Cases, ISP, Litigation 1 Comment

A Pennsylvania judge recently affirmed that a person connecting to another’s unsecured wifi does not have an expectation of privacy in that wireless connection. The defendant, who was suspected of downloading child pornography, challenged the police’s use of a tracking tool called “Moocherhunter,” which identifies the geo-location of hackers and individuals who “mooch” on the wireless connections of others.

The defendant lived across the street from the owner of the wireless router, connected to that wireless router, and downloaded child pornography. With proper warrants, the police searched the computers belonging to the owner of the wireless router, and discovered that the owner was not the responsible party. Using “Moocherhuner,” the police were able to find the defendant, who was in possession of child pornography. The defendant objected to the police’s use of Moocherhunter on the grounds that it was an unreasonable search and seizure, as it was conducted without a warrant. However, the judge ruled that there was no search under 4th amendment law because the defendant voluntarily shared information with a third party (the owner of the wireless router), and that he had no expectation of privacy in signals sent from his computer to the wireless router.

While the issue of expectation of privacy may seem new in the context of wireless routers, the concept has strong roots in criminal law and the 4th amendment law. The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure, and many cases have dealt with what constitutes a “search” and what kind of searches are “unreasonable.” At bottom, an action by the police is not a “search” for 4th Amendment purposes when the person searched (the accused) has no reasonable expectation of privacy in that information or the means by which the information was transmitted. Generally, a person has no expectation of privacy in information that he or she gives to a third party—instead, they assume the risk that the third party may share that information with others.

It is always a good idea to take care with what information people transmit through the Internet, but especially so in light of the recent confirmation of this principle—that you have no expectation of privacy in information shared over a wireless connection. Remember, nothing is truly private.

For owners of wireless routers, it may be wise to use a strong password to secure those routers. While it is still possible for sophisticated hackers to hack into the router, this may prevent others people from accessing your wireless, whether it is for something innocuous, like streaming Netflix, or something illegal, like downloading child pornography.

For more information:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/11/26/another-reason-not-to-download-child-porn-using-your-neighbors-wi-fi/

https://cyb3rcrim3.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-wireless-signal-moocherhunter-and.html

Tags:4th amendment, IP address, privacy, unsecured wifi, unsecured wireless, wireless routers

About Author

JAntonelli

Jeffrey Antonelli is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois and is admitted to numerous federal courts around the country. He has been a civil litigator nearly 25 years in a broad range of actions representing corporations and individuals as plaintiffs and defendants in state and federal court. Jeffrey has been interviewed by the media many times, including Bloomberg BNA, NBC, The New York Times, Chicago Lawyer, Chicago Tribune, and the longstanding lawyer’s publication Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. Prior to forming Antonelli Law Ltd. in 2007 Jeffrey worked for several litigation boutiques in Chicago’s Loop as well as a full service firm. His litigation experience includes hotly contested issues in intellectual property, business, insurance, and consumer fraud. He is an adviser to the Illinois Board of Higher Education Advisory Council for Private Business and Vocational Schools (PBVS), and was a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Education Law Section Council from 2012-2013. Jeffrey is especially proud of his work representing hundreds of students defrauded by improperly accredited educational institutions, including as certified class counsel. Before attending law school, Jeffrey was interested first in business, and then in biomedical ethics. These interests led him to graduate from the nation’s largest philosophy department at Loyola University in Chicago, where some of his favorite (and most challenging) subjects were cognitive science and philosophy of science. During college he held positions at the University of Chicago’s Ben May Institute; as a medical assistant for a University of Chicago foot and ankle surgeon; and volunteered in the emergency room at the University of Chicago Hospitals. These experiences led to studying health law at the DePaul College of Law where Jeffrey earned his law degree and a certificate in health law. At that time DePaul’s Institute for Health Law was consistently ranked in the top 10 health law specialty programs nationwide. During law school Jeffrey immersed himself in studying the practical and public policy aspects of health care through internships at the American Medical Association in Chicago, and on Capitol Hill at the Governmental Relations Office of the Association of American Medical Colleges in Washington, DC. Jeffrey has concentrated in civil litigation throughout his legal career, and is a member of the federal trial bar of the Northern District of Illinois, the Central District of Illinois federal court, and all federal courts of Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. In addition, he is a member of the DuPage County Bar Association and the Illinois State Bar Association. Jeffrey prides himself on his strong personal ideals, passionate, ethical advocacy, and working hard to bring the best possible results for his clients. He also maintains a special interest in cases involving fraud. Whether due to good parenting, his family’s law enforcement employment, undergraduate studies in philosophy including ethics, or a fortuitous outcome of good breeding, one essence of Jeffrey’s character is a drive to root out the truth behind fraudulent practices.

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