Security News > 2008 > September > Wigle.net: The 411 on Wireless Access Points

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/09/wiglenet_the_411_on_wireless_a.html By Brian Krebs Security Fix Washington Post September 26, 2008 If you thought your wireless network was too remote or obscure to find, you might want to think again. There's a non-trivial chance that the name of your network and its precise geographic coordinates are already mapped out and searchable by anyone with a Web browser. At least for U.S.-based networks, probably the best place to find that information is at the free database maintained by Wigle.net. The Wireless Geographic Logging Engine is a Web site that maps data gathered by "wardrivers," geeks who enjoy cruising around with open laptops connected to global positioning system (GPS) devices in order to chart the distribution of wireless networks. WiGLE's database allows anyone to search for a wireless network by geographic area or by the name of the service set identifier (SSID), the moniker either manually or otherwise automatically assigned to all wireless access points. Wireless routers broadcast their SSIDs as a way of inviting users nearby to connect with the network. [...] __________________________________________________ Register now for HITBSecConf2008 - Malaysia! With a new triple-track conference featuring 4 keynote speakers and over 35 international experts, this is the largest network security event in Asia and the Middle East! http://conference.hackinthebox.org/hitbsecconf2008kl/

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http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2008/09/wiglenet_the_411_on_wireless_a.html