The first known successful prosecution of an individual for 'war driving' (using a third party's wireless internet connection to access their network and the internet) came with the decision last week of a jury in Isleworth, UK to find Gregory Straszkiewicz guilty under sections 125 and 126 of the Communications Act 2003.
The Act introduced a new offence of dishonestly obtaining an electronic communications service with the intent to avoid a charge applicable to that service. Mr Straszkiewicz is reported to have been caught by police outside a residential building surfing the internet using a laptop.
Commentators have suggested that it may be difficult for Wi-Fi network owners to prove that their network has been accessed by a third party.
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