Two cautioned over illegal wireless internet access

Two people have been cautioned for using someone else's wireless internet connection without permission.

A man in Redditch, Worcestershire, was arrested on Saturday following a tip-off from residents who spotted the man in his car using a laptop while outside a house in the area.

Earlier in the month, a 29-year-old woman was arrested in the town. Both the man and the woman were cautioned for dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services with intent to avoid payment. The two incidents are not thought to be linked.

PC Tony Humphries of West Mercia Police told the Redditch Advertiser that the arrests should remind people with wireless routers that they could have their broadband connections accessed in this way if they do not follow the security advice issued to them by their ISPs.

"We also want to warn potential offenders that we take any reports of this type of activity very seriously," he told the newspaper.

Rene Millman

Rene Millman is a freelance writer and broadcaster who covers cybersecurity, AI, IoT, and the cloud. He also works as a contributing analyst at GigaOm and has previously worked as an analyst for Gartner covering the infrastructure market. He has made numerous television appearances to give his views and expertise on technology trends and companies that affect and shape our lives. You can follow Rene Millman on Twitter.