“Wi-Fi Squatting” can be a Federal Offense

It’s a federal offense in the U.S. to use someone else’s unsecured wireless network for illicit purposes. It’s a crime in Germany, too – committed by the network owner. The Wall Street Journal reports. “According to the FBI, it isn’t a federal offense to squat, as long as the squatter doesn’t use the connection to do anything illegal. Wi-Fi squatting is against the law in some states. A court in Germany ruled that the owner of an unsecured Wi-Fi network that a squatter used to illegally download rap songs is responsible for the crime – even though he proved that he wasn’t the one who stole the files, TechDirt reports. The German court said that network owners are responsible for securing their networks — and can be held liable if they don’t.“ Link via textually.org