14 December,2010 06:40 AM IST | | Aditya Anand
People either smirk or go google-eyed when you ask, "Do you use encryption?" Most just brush it off saying it is too much work. Ask US national Kenneth Haywood or Mumbai-resident and disk jockey Akhil Talreja why being secure matters. "Don't ask! Just do it now," these 'ambassadors' of terror would say through their unsecured net connections.
Today it is the Indian Mujahideen, (and) not the 2G licensees selling broadband Internet with a free Wi-Fi modem that has introduced the aam janta to the secret universe of encryption and the benefits of being secured. For me, having my net connection compromised is like leaving the main door of your home ajar for someone to use your washroom for a leak when you are fast asleep in your bed. Why would I want to risk that?
People don't seem to take care about their Wi-Fi security seriously yet, despite the repeated warnings
Sometimes, things can be fraught with difficulty for the encryption novice too. Managing public and private keys can be confusing at first, and getting someone at the other end to use encryption can be a challenge sometimes.
Worse, it can be difficult to maintain an encrypted identity properly once you've got everything set up. You can't just go through the hassle of completing the set up and be done with it, once and for all. It requires maintenance, step by step.
Of course, it's easier to just skip the encryption. While I am sufficiently motivated to set up encryption keys for myself and maintain the attendant identity, I sometimes find the persistent encryption identity maintenance downright annoying. I can understand the desire to forget about it, and just ignore good encryption practice
altogether. There's just one problem with that attitude: it is plain stupid.
People don't seem to seriously care about Wi-Fi security yet. Inspite of repeated warnings, ignorant users with unlimited bandwidth plans believe that they are doing social service by allowing
neighbours to lech into their Wi-Fi freely.
What they fail to understand is that by doing so, they can actually become an unwitting accessory to cyber crime.
While the ignorant Indian is the target of Wi-Fi hackers and cyber criminals, for the likes of Nira Radia and Andimuthu 0'spectrum' Raja, it is the government, terror outfit or 'investigating agencies', if we word it better that have taught them a different lesson on encryption.
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