Dutch Court Rules WiFi Hacking Not a Criminal Offense 234
loekessers writes "Breaking in to an encrypted router and
using the WiFi connection is not an criminal offense, a Dutch court ruled. (Original article in Dutch; English translation.)
WiFi hackers can not be prosecuted for breaching router security. The judge reasoned that the student didn't gain access to the computer connected to the router, but only used the router's internet connection. Under Dutch law, breaking into a computer is forbidden. A computer in The Netherlands is defined as a machine that is used for three things: the storage, processing and transmission of data. A router can therefore not be described as a computer because it is only used to transfer or process data and not for storing bits and bytes. Hacking a device that is no computer by law is not illegal, and can not be prosecuted, the court concluded. "
Re:IF this passed in the US... (Score:5, Insightful)
How is this different than stealing your car, taking it for a spin, and then putting it back in your driveway?
Would you respond "Learn to install a better alarm and not allow your car to be hot-wired so easy"?
You don't have to install an unbreakable lock to be protected from theft in the eyes of the law.
Re:Where is the line? (Score:5, Insightful)
When you are breaking and entering someones wlan, you are not accessing these parts of the router. You are only gaining access to the transmission part of the device (AccessPoint), it's like finding a way to sneakily plug a cable into someone else his network (without tresspassing on his property). The safety of the other parts is not compromised (your not using the same passphrase for the default user of the device and the wlan, are you) .
The law used to deter wireless hacking has the word computer in it. Using specific devices is always a big risk in laws with fast evolving technologies. A judge decided to formulate a definition of the word computer. I personally think it was a good call, though I don't want any unautorized access to my wlan myself.
If you want to argue this should be illegal, a better comparison would be to compare it with stealing electricity.