Seven million homes exposed to wi-fi hijacking
Company
October 21st, 2009
New campaign launched against Mandelson filesharing plans
About seven million* homes and small businesses are vulnerable to Wi-Fi hijacking and so at risk of being wrongly disconnected from the Internet according to a new study into broadband security released today.
The study coincides with today’s launch of a campaign against Lord Mandelson’s plans to disconnect people suspected of illegal filesharing without a trial.
Don’t Disconnect Us (http://www.dontdisconnect.us) has been initiated by TalkTalk, Britain’s biggest provider of broadband to homes. The campaign’s website sets out three principal objections to Lord Mandelson’s plans:
1. It by-passes the courts and gives rightsholders quasi-judicial powers;
2. It exposes millions of people to false prosecution since it is based on an approach where those suspected of illegal filesharing will be presumed guilty and have to prove their innocence in order to avoid being falsely disconnected;
3. It will do little to tackle illegal filesharing since the main offenders will easily avoid detection by using other people’s broadband connections to download content or encrypting their activity. Indeed the proposed measures will increase Wi-Fi and PC hijacking and so increase even further the chances of innocent customers being wrongly cut off.
The risk of innocent people being disconnected is not hypothetical. Consumer organisations such as Which? have been contacted by dozens of people who have been wrongly accused of filesharing by rightsholders who used a similar method to the one Lord Mandelson is suggesting.
Last week a knowledgeable Parliamentary committee, Apcomm, came out squarely against Mandelson’s disconnection plans saying “this approach [disconnection] to dealing with illegal file-sharing should not be further considered.”
The Don’t Disconnect Us website provides a hub for people to learn the latest views on tackling illegal filesharing from around the world, a forum to discuss the issues and a link to a petition on the No 10 website where opposition to the plans can be registered.
The survey of 1,083 Wi-Fi connections, which was conducted by TalkTalk, found that 5 per cent of connections were completely open (ie no security at all), 36 per cent used WEP which is easily hackable and 56 per cent used WPA which is currently fairly secure, though a vulnerability has already been detected meaning it could become hackable soon. Only 3 per cent used the most secure form of protection, WPA2.
-Ends-
For more information please contact
Steve Marinker
Citigate Dewe Rogerson
0207 282 2841
07779 031 936
*Ofcom’s most recent estimate for the number of fixed line home and small business broadband connections is 17.6 million (March 2009). A Wi-Fi survey conducted on 11th October found 41% of 1,083 Wi-Fi networks were vulnerable to unauthorised use. Applying this percentage to the total number of broadband connections – most of which are wireless – we arrive at a figure of up to 7.2 million connections.
About TalkTalk
• TalkTalk, launched in February 2003, is the biggest provider of broadband to Britain’s homes. It now has over 4 million home phone and broadband customers signed up to TalkTalk, AOL Broadband and Tiscali, which it acquired in July 2009.
• The TalkTalk fully unbundled network now extends to approximately 1,700 exchanges, covering 80% of the UK population, with 73% of TalkTalk customers now on its own network.
• In uSwitch’s Customer Satisfaction Report in 2008, TalkTalk was voted the best value for money home phone provider and the best value for money bundle (combining home phone and broadband). This is the most comprehensive survey of UK telephone and broadband suppliers, and is based on the verdicts of over 10,000 home phone and 11,000 broadband customers.
• In November 2008, TalkTalk became the first phone and broadband package to move away from the ‘one size fits all’ package. The Essentials package delivers value through choice by enabling customers to tailor a package that suits them. Essentials provides an award-winning 8Mb broadband service along with a great value phone bundle. Boost products can be added from £2 a month and enable customers to upgrade their internet security, speed and download limits as well as access great phone deals such as ½ price mobile calls, anytime calls and calling features.
• Follow TalkTalk on Twitter and on our blog: http://www.twitter.com/talktalktips and http://www.talktalkblog.co.uk