In a bid to ensure network and data safety for Wi-Fi users, the Queensland Police have intensified their activities to search for networks that are not secure and to educate their owners on the dangers of an unsecure network and the strategies to improve network security.

Australian police are worried about the negligence of people using unsecure Wi-Fi networks. They fall easy prey to Wardrivers, who are constantly seeking such networks and transferring this data to the piggybackers, who utilise the data and hack into the network. If you’re unsure of mobile broadband, or simply want to learn more, refer to a dedicated mobile broadband website for information and advice, and offers such as pay and go mobile broadband.

Brian Hay, Detective Superintendent, Queensland Police, compared their present crusade to that of the “Lock Your Car” campaign of the good old days. In that initiative, when people forgot to lock their car, the Australian police, always on the lookout, left a note on the windshield, that explained the benefits of locking a car and the problems of leaving it unlocked. Hay, who is a McAfee International Cyber Crime Fighter Award winner, added that the Queensland Police now want to use the same trick to tackle cyber crime.

In this campaign, the police will search for such open networks, much the same way as wardrivers do, and inform users about the disadvantages of an open network and the various methods that can be used to make it secure. Police will exercise utmost caution and tread very slowly despite the enormity of the problem, to ensure that it succeeds.

The program is not expected to be an unwelcome burden for taxpayers, as it plans to use localised methods of investigation and then the media to achieve wider publicity about the problem.