Wardriving for wireless LANs 2

[Quentin Campbell]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ian Johnson [mailto:Ian.Johnson@uwe.ac.uk]
> Sent: 31 May 2002 10:02
> To: ukcrypto@chiark.greenend.org.uk
> Subject: Re: Wardriving for wireless LANs 2
>=20
>=20
> Quentin Campbell wrote:
>=20
> > Section 1 of the 1949 Act says "No person shall establish
> or use any
> > station for wireless telegraphy or instal or use any apparatus for
> > wireless telegraphy except under the authority of a licence in that=20
> > behalf granted by the Postmaster General, and ... shall be=20
> guilty of
> > an offence under this Act: Provided that the PMG may by regulation
> > exempt from the provisions of this subsection ...".
>=20
> I thought wireless lan's operated on "licence exempt"
> frequencies/purposes and hence the WT act did not apply,=20
> (same as for my cordless headphones/ car remote locking etc.).
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> As such I would have thought signal reception legal here,
> although perhaps problems with the computer misues act.

Ian

Thanks for the response. That was the sort of assumption I made in my
posting but I would welcome reference to the Regulation(s) that give
effect to this.

While the owner's use of a car remote locking system may be "licence
exempt" it does not follow that interception, recording and disclosure
of the key code or other content by a third party is also exempt. It
almost certainly isn't and I assume is covered by S2 of RIPA with the
WTA as a fall back (*). The issue of interception & disclosure was the
other part of the "war drive" question.=20

Roland Perry may find the answer to his question in the same
Regulation(s). Alternatively it may be answered by the exemption given
in S2(3) of RIPA for "any communication broadcast for general reception"
or possibly by S2(5) if the transmission is considered "traffic data"
(*).=20

(*) I can find no reference in RIPA to repeal of any section of the WTA
1949 so am
    unclear about which Act takes precedence.   =20

Quentin
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"Any opinion expressed above is mine. The University can get its own."=20