Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Examination of the technology involved in Ahrndt

This is the second of a four-part series from Cybercrime Review on the Ninth Circuit's Ahrndt decision and the important legal issues concerning wireless networks.


Understanding the technology involved in the Ahrndt decision is essential. As I've covered in previous posts (here), the case involved a neighbor's use of Ahrndt's unsecured wireless network. She didn't have permission to use it, but she could freely connect because of her proximity to his router. Once connected, she opened iTunes, noticed Ahrndt was sharing media files, and connected to his computer when she noticed some files appeared to be child pornography.

Wireless Networks
Thus, the first technology issue is the unsecured wireless network. The court emphasized that Ahrndt had no subjective expectation of privacy because of his knowledge of computers and employment with Hewlett Packard. Though this may be less applicable to him, setting up a secured wireless network is not the easiest task. It requires understanding how to enter the IP address into a browser and choosing between a variety of security options, knowledge that isn't common even among frequent computer users. The subjective expectation aside, the Ahrndt trial court would have found that no objective expectation of privacy existed because no security was enabled on the network.

Click the image for a larger view.
iTunes Sharing
The sharing of files in iTunes is the second issue. The feature allows iTunes users to share their media files with others on the same network. Each computer sharing files is listed within the iTunes program (shown in the image to the left). Users simply click on the computer name and can begin to browse that user's iTunes library. Once connected, the user can play music and watch videos (depending on the settings). They cannot, however, download those files to their computer. It's a use-only license. The feature, now called "Home Sharing," enables users to connect from other computers, iPods, iPhones, and iPads on the network.

Since Apple added the feature to the iTunes application, it has required users to enable the share feature. They must enter the program settings and select "Share my library on my local network" (shown in the images to the right). Users can then restrict the types of files that are shared and even require a password for accessing their media library.

What was Ahrndt thinking?
It's very likely that Ahrndt didn't realize he was sharing child pornography with his neighbors. Assuming it wasn't intentional, what are the possibilities for explaining this?
  • Wireless routers' signals have various strengths and can be picked up across varying distances. Perhaps he did not realize the signal would go as far as his neighbor's home (his had a 400 foot range, and the neighbor lived 150 feet away).
  • It's very possible that he did not enable the sharing. If he had not done so, there would have been no way of knowing without often checking the settings to ensure it was disabled.
  • Ignorance is another option. He may not have thought a neighbor would attempt to connect. He might have actually used the iTunes share feature to connect it to his iPod. And, yes, he worked for HP, but that doesn't mean he is an expert about wireless routers and Apple software.
Whatever he might have been thinking, he was obviously wrong in thinking it.

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