mobile broadband

Secure your wifi connection or face legal action?

According to German news, an unknowing resident happened to leave his wi-fi connection open without securing it, to then find out that other people had been using it to illegally download software.

This could set a precedent in the rest of Europe when it comes to securing your wifi connection to avoid being held responsible for illegal internet activity. In the Germany case, legal action was taken against the owner of the wifi connection.

The concern now, is that the UK could follow suit - but there are many arguments against this kind of thing happening such as someone who isn't tech savvy and cannot secure their wifi connection on their own. This is after the security of mobile broadband was also questioned.

The accused actually received a fine for not securing his wifi, because the open network was then used for illegal downloading. Most wireless networks have some form of security, the most common being the WEP key.

An expert on internet law has claimed that it could potentially come to light that legal action or a fine could be imposed for those held accountable for not securing their wireless network.

Passing the responsability onto the owner of the wireless network is not as out of this world as it may sound. The case in Germany could be a stark warning to UK consumers to make sure their wifi connection is secured, otherwise they may be taken advantage of and then have to pay the price of legal action or a fine.

At the moment you won't get sent to jail for having an open wireless network. This obviously begs the question of bars and libraries which allow internet surfing, who would be held liable in this case? It is still very much murky waters, but to err on the side of caution it is probably wiser to secure your wireless network.