The document discusses different types of open WiFi networks and their pros and cons in terms of privacy, security, and reliability. It categorizes WiFi networks as either open or broken based on factors such as encryption, authentication, management, and firewalling. The author prefers encrypted and authenticated networks like eduroam that are managed but non-firewalled and open. The goal is to transform systems like eduroam into a distributed authentication model to enable secure and responsible WiFi access anywhere, which is technically possible today.
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Open WiFi or Broken WiFi?
1. Open WiFi or
Broken WiFi?
Karri Huhtanen
on Google+,
@khuhtanen on Twitter,
firstname . surname
(at) archred . com
2. *) COMMON OPEN WIFI CON: NO ENCRYPTION
=> NO PRIVACY, LESS OR NO SECURITY
Open vs.
Open WiFi type Pros Cons
Broken?
(CITY-)WIDE, MANAGED, TRULY OPEN, BUT MANAGED
*), BUSINESS MODEL?, NEVER
MULTIPROVIDER, NO AND MONITORED FOR GOOD
SEEN ONE IMPLEMENTED OPEN
AUTHENTICATION, NO SERVICE QUALITY AND
ANYWHERE
FIREWALLING SECURITY
OPEN IF WORKS, CAN BE
RANDOM OPEN ACCESS *), CAN BE ALREADY
FIXED OR REBOOTED BY ANY
POINT WITH DEFAULT COMPROMISED, NO BROKEN
USER, NO ORGANISATION
SETTINGS MANAGEMENT, SERVICE QUALITY
NEEDED
(CITY-)WIDE, *), MONOPOLY => PRICING,
MANAGED(LIKE), SINGLE QUALITY, NO COMPETITION =>
CLEAR BUSINESS MODEL FOR
UPLINK PROVIDER, NO NO DEVELOPMENT, BUSINESS BROKEN
THE UPLINK PROVIDER
AUTHENTICATION, MODEL?, FIREWALL CAN MAKE
FIREWALLING NETWORK USELESS
MOBILE WIFI (TRAIN, *), UNRELIABLE UPLINKS,
NO AUTHENTICATION WORKS
ETC.), NO CANNOT BE MANAGED =>
PRETTY WELL WITH BROKEN
AUTHENTICATION, SERVICE QUALITY, FIREWALL
UNRELIABLE UPLINKS
STRICT FIREWALLING CAN MAKE NETWORK USELESS
*), TEMPORARY, => DEPLOYMENT
CONFERENCE WIFI, NO
NO AUTHENTICATION WORKS PROBLEMS, SERVICE QUALITY,
AUTHENTICATION, NO OPEN
PRETTY WELL UPLINK BANDWIDTH, BUSINESS
FIREWALLING
MODEL?
3. And that is why I personally like to use and see
encrypted, authenticated, managed non-
firewalled, WiFi with open interfaces (such as
eduroam) instead of BROKEN WIFI.
The challenge and ultimate objective in WiFi
community networks for me is to transform
eduroam model to open, distributed WiFi
authentication system so that someday there
will be worldroam to use WiFi securely and
responsibly anywhere.
The thing is, we can already do this technically...