Network Security Advisory

An access point has been observed broadcasting a network name closely resembling that of a sanctioned community network. It is not operated by this department and is not sanctioned by the HOA.

The department takes no position on who is operating it or why. The department takes a very firm position on what residents are to do about it, which is nothing.

Residents are reminded of the following, which were not new when this advisory was issued:

Credentials are not to be shared with other residents, guests, vendors, instructors, or anyone who has recently been handed a drink. Credentials are not to be entered into any network the resident cannot positively identify. Residents are not to solicit, collect, guess at, or otherwise attempt to obtain the credentials of another resident, and the department wishes to note that it should not have needed to write this sentence.

A network name resembling a familiar one is the entire mechanism. That is how it works. That is the whole trick. Residents who consider themselves too experienced to be caught by it are, in this department’s direct operational experience, the ones who get caught by it.

Residents encountering an unfamiliar network should connect to the sanctioned network instead, and should report the observation to this department, which will log it and take no further action.

Violators will be reported to the IT Department. Residents seeking clarification on what happens after that are advised that the department has not yet decided, and that this ambiguity is intentional.