India cracks down on open WiFi to stem terrorism, chain letters

Just when you thought you were doing your buddy next door a favor, turns out leaving your WiFi router open to the public is the first step in staging a terrorist bombing -- who knew? The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reckons the country just isn't ready for that kind of responsibility, seeing as how email over WiFi is all the rage for transmitting instructions to fellow terror-ees these days. The aim is now to limit WiFi net access to authorized persons only. Man, just imagine what they'll do with WiMAX. In other news, the pencil sitting next to you could be used to poke your eye out if you're not careful.

[Via The Economic Times]

[lorddshadow @ Sep 18th 2008 5:34PM]

just because a lot of terrorists are muslims, that doesn't mean all muslims are terrorists. there are irish terrorists and you don't see anyone telling them to become american! stop being such a freakin stereotype!

[Zinger314 @ Sep 18th 2008 2:15PM]

Great, now can India crack down on the the true terrorists: CALL CENTERS.

[Platinum_Skeet @ Sep 18th 2008 2:18PM]

nuh-uh if you seen "don't mess with a zohan" telemarketers now do the job on their cellphones while driving cabs...

[0jk0 @ Sep 18th 2008 8:07PM]

get a life Zinger314

[baked_cookie @ Sep 18th 2008 2:18PM]

Due to recent turn of events in India, I don't blame them. Indians are definitely not ready for open WiFi...
.

[raerae @ Sep 18th 2008 2:25PM]

AHHHHH. that will teach em! if only we knew that before 9/11.

[meist3r @ Sep 18th 2008 2:27PM]

What's next? Cellphones? Wires? If anything that could be used to detonate a bomb or make a threat becomes illegal one couldn't brush one's teeth in the morning. Arms chopped off, toes removed, mouth sown shut. What a wonderfully peaceful life ...

This whole "War on Terror" crap goes way too far. But as if I'm the only one who thinks that.

[Braindead @ Sep 20th 2008 10:22AM]

The point is it becomes impossible to trace the person who has mailed in the threat if he uses and open network.And the past three bombings the email sent were just before after bombing by terrorist outfits claiming responsibility for the bombings or declaring their intention for bombings...I mean if as a mean of retaliation US can wage a war which has been going on for 7 years...This is quite a reasonable measure by comparison...The sarcastic tone of the author just suggests how out of touch she is,

[meist3r @ Sep 20th 2008 12:15PM]

But that doesn't make any sense. If a terrorist detonates a bomb downtown nobody will ever know who he was. If he sends an email over an unsecured wi-fi you can at least look up the servers that the mail passed through and how the mail was sent. I doubt that anyone is dumb enough to do this with a webmail account but the degree of evidence that you can get from examining the traces is much bigger WITH the Wi-Fis open than without them. The only thing that they're complaining about now is that the person who threatens to bomb a city can't be found before the bomb goes off ... not much of a change from without Wi-Fi don't you think?

And let's not forget that the Iraq/Afghanistan wars didn't start because of "simple" bomb attacks OK? The symbolism of bringing down the WTC is the reason why the US overreacted that way, they became headless chickens in the light of such an overwhelming picture. George Bush went into overdrive and shot everyone in sight basically. If every bomb attack would trigger such a crusade against the "evildoers" many countries would be in constant war (take Spain and England/Ireland). I can see the reasoning behind the decision it but it's utterly flawed.

[goober_nut @ Sep 18th 2008 2:29PM]

I'd type my feeling about this, but I'm too busy pulling that damn pencil out of my eye.

[HOOPER @ Sep 18th 2008 4:38PM]

How about a magic trick

[dahveed @ Sep 18th 2008 2:30PM]

So instead of having the police and army actually seeking out terrorists and controlling the bomb making materials, the Indian Government is going to have those assets driving around looking for non-locked WiFi? I agree that India has a terror problem, but I'm not sure hassling non-secure WiFi owners is really going to be very effective in ending these attacks.

[somekindarobit @ Sep 18th 2008 2:36PM]

Who says they aren't doing that too? Not saying it's going to easy to police this, but citizens of India know the real threat of terrorism and will likely comply.

[JKT @ Sep 18th 2008 2:54PM]

@somekindarobit
Please explain to us how this is "a real threat of terrorism" and "the right thing to do". How this will stop terrorism? Do you think terrorists don't already have countless other ways to access to the internet? Do you think they don't know how to use anonymizers? And if they don't, do you really think they don't know how to Google those procedures?

People like you just don't get it--when you take away freedoms in the name of "stopping terrorism", you are letting the terrorists win. This is exactly what they love to see--they can get more supporters now because they can recruit with "Look what we were able to accomplish--we got the whole country's WiFi turned off. Imagine what else we can do with your help!" If anything, this new law will actually enable more terrorism.

And to top it all, this is nothing more than "Security theater". Go Google or Wiki that and see if it's not an exact description of what's going on here. One hopes then you'll not be so quick to agree that freedoms are to be lightly tossed away without logical examination of the likelihood that the original "threat" was really a threat.

[Francis @ Sep 18th 2008 4:21PM]

+1
Security Theater is exactly what it looks like.

[aquatsr @ Sep 18th 2008 4:44PM]

@JKT: Last time I checked, open wifi wasn't a freedom to be encroached upon.

[somekindarobit @ Sep 18th 2008 2:34PM]

India deals with terrorism all the time. They know how to deal with them a lot better than the U.S.. I think this is actually the right thing to do.

[Munford @ Sep 18th 2008 2:36PM]

WiMAX would not have the same worry. Free WiFi are anonymous. While everything sent on WiMAX can be tracked back to the subscriber, if authority wants to.

[vik @ Sep 18th 2008 2:43PM]

This falls in the same domain as

Banning all liquids on flights because some idiot thought he could use liquids to make a bomb. Yea right, they can't even make proper coffee on flights!

The whole war on terror is just a ploy to see how far can the common folk be pushed.

[Amerist @ Sep 18th 2008 3:08PM]

We'll see exactly how much this actually curbs terrorism. If people are determined enough to commit a terrorist act, they will find a way.

Close the WiFi access points? There's cracking tools available to the determined criminal. Open sesame.

True "Terrorism" is not something that an average joe is going to do in his spare time, yet that's how certain agencies make it seem. This is just more FUD to me.

[jahcriado @ Sep 18th 2008 2:47PM]

Man, thanks for the heads up. I just TOTALLY called the police on that pencil next to me! No eraser-head No. 2 is going to blind this freedom lover!

[dbragan @ Sep 24th 2008 10:34AM]

i broke my pencil.. so that wont happen

[nak @ Sep 18th 2008 3:12PM]

All routers in all countries should come with WPA turned on with some random password the new owner must change. It only makes sense. If people really want to share their internet with whomever walks by or lives next door let them turn off the security themselves.

Cars don't come without locks, the dealer doesn't say "Install locks, if you want to. But this whole communal car thing is really catching on!"

[Nash @ Sep 19th 2008 10:37AM]

In a country like India it is pretty hard to track and control terrorist/ism. So if this could help it, why not ? Its not like you are being banned from using a wireless router.

Some of you making stupid comparisions are just as ignorant and pathetic. There have been so many bomb blasts in India in the past year that I dont mind that govt takes these steps........

[ben @ Sep 18th 2008 3:20PM]

I just don't see this working well. It reminds me of the PATRIOT Act, which in turn reminds me of 1984. I'm sure there are at least a few Indians who intentionally leave their networks open for people who can afford their computer but not an internet connection. This sort of resolution could possibly disconnect thousands of people.

And that's not cool.

[absinthe party @ Sep 18th 2008 3:24PM]

You didn't get enough hugs growing up, did you?

[JJ @ Sep 18th 2008 3:26PM]

Well I figure I'll just keep on being Muslim/Christian and die one day anyways.

[Wolfticket @ Sep 18th 2008 3:51PM]

Now terrorists will have to pay for their WiFi. I'm sure this will put them off bombing and such.

[RiddleMeThis @ Sep 18th 2008 7:11PM]

I pay in cash what kind of deal can you give me?

[vistet @ Sep 18th 2008 4:01PM]

"..but citizens of India know the real threat of terrorism and will likely comply."

That´s a hoot : have you ever been to India , the land with shifting consensus on which side of the road you should drive ? Indians will readily agree to to whatever authorities come up with , they will hardly ever comply.

[aquatsr @ Sep 18th 2008 4:46PM]

If they agree to what the authorities want, isn't that compliance?

[Krish the Fish @ Sep 18th 2008 5:12PM]

@ aquatsr

not exactly. they won't disagree with it, but they won't follow it either.

maybe i'm not good at explaining things, but i've been to india 7 times too many. and I know exactly what vistet means. they have 8 lane roads with 12 cars going across the intersection. they acknowledge a speed limit, but no one follows it (they constantly speed up and slow down, based on the construction material of the road). it's quite chaotic, to be honest.

[rcappo @ Sep 18th 2008 4:07PM]

They must not have free wifi in coffee shops, restaurants, libraries or cities...That sucks. How else am I supposed to get on-line? There is no way I'm paying $500/year and be easily traceable.

Maybe this will advance the development of automated wifi security crack programs. Just click a access point and a few hours later the passphase comes up with a lot less user interaction than is currently required.

The internet is supposed to be free and decentralized, if it goes too far from that, I'm sure a new version will start up.

[SubGenius @ Sep 18th 2008 4:59PM]

The mobile phone companies are behind this law.
They are worried about the proliferation of VOIP solutions that will cut into their profits.
This has nothing to do with terrorism.

[IndiHacker @ Sep 19th 2008 10:05AM]

Dude, it's India we are talking about here... phone charges are quite cheap already.. VOIP hasn't quite caught up...

[vistet @ Sep 18th 2008 5:07PM]

Compliance is actually doing what the authorities want , agreeing is the polite response "yes, saab.."

[z3r0c001 @ Sep 18th 2008 5:43PM]

Sitting in a starbucks, sipping on your iced macchiato, commenting on a developing nation who is trying to some steps to prevent being terrorized, while US of A, dictates the rest of the world, how to live, else look at what we did to Iraq,
yes that is perfect, you have every right to comment about it stephanie,

one lady who is carzy enough to not to report her missing daughter for one month gets days worth of media coverage, some ex-beautyqueen, who wants to teach abstinence only sex-ed has a pregnant 17year old daughter and.

I mean get a life, this is a blog called engadget, supped to be about up and coming things in technology and gadgets,

so unless you know what you are talking about, just keep writing about new nikons and how they'll fit in your tote bag with your chihuahua, and let real political pundits talk about international politics

thanks

[Jon Acheson @ Sep 18th 2008 5:55PM]

I don't know about curbing terrorists, but if it will help curb anonymous blog postings, I'm all for it.

[0jk0 @ Sep 18th 2008 8:07PM]

@ Jon Acheson
lol.. thats by far the best post yet on this thread. enough of this political nonsense!

[chickenator @ Sep 18th 2008 7:52PM]

terrorEees!

[lintsniffer @ Sep 18th 2008 9:00PM]

Wouldn't a terror-ee be someone who GETS terrorized?

Good job coming up with "cute" fake words.

[aakaash @ Sep 18th 2008 9:01PM]

I think engadget is loosing its focus on gadgets and trying to interfere with politics specially where India is concerned. I am an Indian and i support this move completely while we face terror attacks on our country throughout the year while you guys (USA) get attacked once that too seven years ago still cry for it. no doubt it was bad but common get a life its been seven years while we faced to terror bombings in this month itself one of which was on Delhi(Capital of India) whatever steps our government takes should be left to them do we comment why USA has such stringent security in place ???

[aakaash @ Sep 18th 2008 9:05PM]

Also engagdget incase you dint have a background check this is because of a series of blasts which took place in several cities in India where the email of the group claiming responsibility was sent through a hacked wifi network of an American. Know the information then post .

[tekdroid @ Sep 18th 2008 9:13PM]

I was handing out free food to terrorists on an Indian street and you can imagine my surprise when I was STOPPED by a police officer who proceeded to destroy my "free food for terrorists here" sign and put me in the slammer overnight. Shocking.

[Jay @ Sep 19th 2008 2:40AM]

Unfortunately, most people don't read the full news before commenting. The article too, doesn't explain the history, but just aims to make fun of a nation.

In the last few months, India has had multiple blasts in four major cities this year itself. Each time, minutes before the blasts, the terrorists sent e-mails (from open WiFi networks) to media channels claiming responsibility.

Due to that the people whose WiFi was used (including a dumbass American Ken Haywood) were interrogated as to how the terror threats were sent from their Wireless Network. Scared shitless of the interrogation he ran with his tail between his legs back to the US of A. Oh he's back now that he knows he won't be questioned again, he can't live without "this beautiful country'. Why else would he be working here anyway? Yeah... he works at a call-center here.

Making sure people in India have secure WiFi networks just goes to prevent this sort of situation arising again. Agreed, it won't reduce terrorism, but it will just go about reducing the worry a citizen could go through if his/her network is unsecure & used to send mails like these.

Imagine the scenario, you've left the network unsecured, and a terror-threat (maybe even a hoax) is sent from your network. It's gonna be traced back to you. Do you wanna answer to the cops telling them you're not responsible & have them sift through files on your computer for terrorist links? Hell no! So to safeguard you against that, the TRAI are educating users to get their WiFi networks secured. Very often people buy the WiFi routers & set them up themselves, and being plain ignorant don't secure them.

Most of the comments here are just plain ridiculous. Internet here (though not the best broadband) is so cheap anybody can afford it. Most of it costs less than $10/month. The mobile companies don't have a thing to do with it either.

People saying the cops should just do their job better should just remember that Osama is still at large, and the US can't do much about it, even after seven years...

[Mark @ Sep 19th 2008 5:57AM]

This is the same country in which a member of the Rajya Sabha (House of Lords) said that mobile phones should be banned (by government directive) from use during business hours. The British never really left India, they just left their babus behind.

[Americaninindia @ Sep 21st 2008 12:02AM]

The American who fled India had an open router so it didn't need to be 'hacked'.

He 'fled' with, as you say, his tail between his legs because the Indian Government was going to start injecting him with Sodium Pentathol well after it was established that he was not involved in blowing up shopping malls.

Get your facts straight.

[vbtrash @ Sep 19th 2008 2:45AM]

haha.. im posting this using my neighbour's wifi here in delhi..