German Court Rules that Germans Must Secure Wireless Networks of Face Fines

The top criminal court in Germany has made a new ruling that those running private wireless internet connections must secure them or potentially face fines.

Internet users can be fined up to euro100 ($126) if a third party takes advantage of their unprotected WLAN connection to illegally download music or other files, the Karlsruhe-based court said in its verdict.

“Private users are obligated to check whether their wireless connection is adequately secured to the danger of unauthorized third parties abusing it to commit copyright violation,” the court said.

The move is to prevent unauthorised users from downloading illegal data over your connection and puts that responsibility on the wireless network owner.

It’s an odd move, but at the same time it’s always a good thing to keep your private network secure and especially if you plan on performing transactions and logging in to services to prevent ID theft.

Although it does say users must secure their wireless networks, it does only indicate you’ll be fined if someone does download something illegally on your connection, so for those who want to keep their wifi connection open, you just have to hope no one does anything dodgy with the connection.

Via: TechDirt