The number of unsecured WiFi networks in the city has dropped 95 per cent since the Indian Mujahideens media-wing allegedly hacked into the account of American Ken Haywood,resident of Navi Mumbais Sanpada area,the police say. They attribute the drop to sustained initiatives and say these have ensured it will no longer be easy for terrorists to hack into such accounts. Hackers had used Haywoods account in August 2008 to send out an e-mail claiming responsibility for the Ahmedabad serial blasts. The Crime Branch said surveys by its officers have shown a dramatic reduction since then in the number of unsecured WiFi hotspots open to hacking. Since the Ken Haywood episode,we have held continuous cyber-safety awareness programmes for schools,colleges,housing societies and other groups. These initiatives have worked wonders,and we have found that the number of unsecured WiFi hotspots in the city has reduced by 95 per cent, Addl CP (Crime) Deven Bharti said. We routinely checked for such hotspots while driving down from the police headquarters at Crawford Market to the international airport and beyond. Other parts of the city were also surveyed. The hotspots have gone down drastically in checks conducted recently,and at least a first line of defence has been set up against terrorists looking to hack into networks for different ends, Bharti said. The Crime Branchs cyber crime investigation cell (CCIC) identified such hotspots and began monitoring all user activity on the networks. Unsecured WiFi hotspots in the city can be taken advantage of by elements with wrong motives who want to avoid being traced through IP addresses. Therefore,the matter was taken seriously. Officers of the CCIC are highly tech-savvy,across all ranks,and wasted no time drawing up a list of such hotspots. The usage of these WiFi networks was kept under surveillance, said a CCIC officer. Experts said metropolitan cities are teeming with such WiFi hotspots where people can tap a network simply by driving through the area,depending on the strength and range of the network. Tech-buffs are known to identify such hotspots and pass the word.
