As reported recently, Russian spies in US used private WiFi networks as a means for secret communications. These networks were found to be operating in the ad hoc mode (also knows as peer-to-peer mode) in which two or more WiFi clients can directly communicate with each other over WiFi links without using a WiFi router.
WiFi networks provide good data speed, have a relatively large communication range, operate in unlicensed band, and are very popular nowadays among the masses. All these attributes must have prompted Russian spies to use them for secret communications, such as data swap between laptops. The secrecy is guaranteed because while using a self-owned private WiFi, one can evade the use of traceable internet and cellular data networks and also the physical monitoring of surveillence cameras.
The use of private WiFi by these Russian spies is just another version of a previous incident where terrorists used an unsecured private WiFi network belonging to another residence for sending emails. This reflects the point that WiFi networks are being increasingly exploited by spies and terrorists for their convenience in following ways:
- By logging into a private unsecured or poorly secured WiFi network owned by someone else
- By creating a self owned private WiFi network for secure communications