The Sherrif"s department is fitting several of its community service and patrol cars with devices designed to detect insecure wireless networks. This is part of a drive to bring down the use of such networks for illegal purposes, which could land the network owner in serious trouble, whilst the hacker gets away with it.
"The unfortunate thing is when we go to issue the warrants or something else you may end up getting your computer seized because of it," said Brian Radamacher, a member of the Douglas County Sheriff"s Special Investigations Unit. "A lot of times it can take months to get your computer back after the processing."
The department plan to distribute leaflets in vulnerable areas informing users how to secure their networks and warning of potential security issues.