I’ve written before about the fact that wireless kit usually ships with a default security set up of ‘no security’ – because that’s what makes it easy for consumers to get started right away on using the kit. ‘No security’ is obviously not a good default setting in today’s identify- and bandwidth-hijacking world.
California, as so often the case, is taking the lead in dealing with this issue. Assuming that Governor Schwarzenegger signs it into law, manufacturers will have to place appropriate warning labels on all wireless equipment. Of course, that won’t mean that users will improve their wireless security – but it will at least ensure that they’re made aware of the issue.
California’s Database Security Breach law has been widely copied by state legislatures across North America – I guess we’ll now see a rash of wireless-related legislation as well.
Wireless laxity leads to new legislation
September 2, 2006