Forum

Hi folks,
I'm trying to do a little research.

Can someone give me a resource (FCC, FBI, etc.) that will explain what IS legal and what is ILLEGAL (under current law) regarding certain aspects of wireless networking?

For example, I have heard that it IS legal to "discover" WLANs (using tools like Kismet, NetStumbler, etc.), but it is ILLEGAL as soon as you connect to someone else's network, you've "just crossed the legal-illegal line".

Or, what about capturing traffic and cracking someone's WEP key(s) for the sole purpose of "practicing" your own pen testing ability? You're not going to use the cracked key to attempt to join their WLAN, you're simply honing your skills. Is this currently legal?

My "guess" is that if you're either establishing a connection to someone else's WLAN without their permission or you're capturing packets for the purpose of reading the traffic, you're clearly violating some law(s). That's my knee-jerk reaction.

If someone knows of a factual, legal resource they could point me to, I would be interested in reading more specifics.

Comments? Suggestions?

Thank you,
Craig