Can You "Steal" Someone's Wi-Fi Signal?

Christopher Null (Thu Aug 23, 2007 7:54PM EDT)

I guess I'm guilty. Faced with an open Wi-Fi signal and no other way to get online, I've done it: I've borrowed that wireless connection, sent a few emails, browsed a few web pages, and didn't feel any remorse. But technically, in both the U.S. and the U.K., I've broken the law.

Today the BBC joins a chorus asking the question whether these laws make sense, or whether it's unethical or immoral to "steal" an open Wi-Fi signal from someone who's paying good money for it.

In this thoughtful story, the author posits a hypothetical example of a man walking down the street, spilling gold coins behind him that evaporate if they aren't retrieved. Is it immoral to take some? The analogy is a strange one, but it applies to wireless: Say you're sitting at a restaurant for lunch, and your iPhone says there's an open wireless connection nearby. Presumably it's from the apartment upstairs, and the resident is off at work. Do you connect to it? Should you feel bad — or face prosecution — if you do? There's no one "damaged" by your hopping on the network. The owner of that wireless router pays nothing extra whether you use it solidly for the next hour or leave it untouched. Where's the crime?

Of course, this philosophical debate has lately spilled into the real world: A variety of arrests have been made in recent months for people using wireless connections without permission. Laws in several countries have made it very clear: Hitchhiking on a Wi-Fi connection is the same as breaking into their house and stealing a TV.

A more modest position finds a difference between "borrowing" (as in my example above) and outright stealing, as is the case with someone who uses a neighbor's Wi-Fi connection without permission, round the clock. I agree as well: The latter is probably a bit much... though there's an (admittedly sketchy) argument to be made that if someone else's Wi-Fi signal is spilling into your house, it's yours to do with as you please.

Ultimately, though, I can even muster some sympathy for the outright "stealer." My philosophy towards Wi-Fi is that any unsecured hotspot is unsecured for a reason: Nine times out of ten it's because the owner wants to share it. (This is often the case when you visit public areas, cafes, or rental homes, for example.) The remainder of users — those who've simply failed to configure their routers for security — probably don't care one way or the other.

(http://tech.yahoo.com)