[LINK] google misdeeds and Australia's Privacy Commissioner

[Richard Chirgwin]

Gordon Keith wrote:
> On Tue, 22 Jun 2010 03:59:26 pm Richard Chirgwin wrote:
>   
>>> The way a packet-sniffer works is to turn off the MAC address check. 
>>> All packets received by the WiFi radio are kept in the system, then 
>>> saved to disk.
>>>       
>> Ignoring whether or not there was a "corporate intent" on Google's part 
>> to do the wrong thing, Errata Security is assuming that it's okay to use 
>> a sniffer on somebody else's network, without their permission. I agree 
>> with its assessment of the behaviour of the technology, but would 
>> maintain that sniffers need permission from network owners, and probably 
>> always have done.
>>     
>
> But surely they aren't using the sniffer on somebody's network, they are using 
> it on a radio frequency. Anyone who has a license to listen on that radio 
> frequency is licensed to sniff that frequency. 
>   
Well, there would be various legal opinions, but in my opinion it's not 
about the radio frequency, it's about what you do with the Ethernet 
frames you receive.

I'm using "eavesdrop" with a specific meaning here (which is in line 
with the Errata Security article). Instead of discarding Ethernet frames 
addressed to other computers, you are using software designed to capture 
those Ethernet frames.

At the physical layer, you're absolutely right. But a WiFi network is 
not only Layer One - it's also the MAC layer, Layer Two. At the MAC 
layer, the "network" is created by devices obeying the addressing rules 
(among other things). To eavesdrop, you don't just open a radio channel 
- you also choose to implement a specific addressing behaviour ("turn 
off the MAC address check", as Errata puts it).


RC
> The network owner has a NON exclusive right to use the frequency. The sniffer 
> has no way of determining a priori what networks are on the frequency being 
> sniffed, that's the main purpose of the sniffing in the first place.
>
> Regards
> Gordon
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