What is the need of securing Wireless Access Points

Is it a crime if I open up my laptop and use whatever open wifi network I detect to access the Internet. According to me the answer is  "Yes"

Wifi networks can be open or closed. Closed networks are secured either at the WiFi access point through the use of an encrypted Network Key or through the use of an authentication server.

At the wireless access point (WAP), closed networks can be secured with either

WiFi Protected Area (WPA) or

Wired Equivalency Point (WEP). When an individual attempts to connect with an WiFi access point, the individual must provide a network key in order to establish a connection

WPA2 is strongest; use it if you have a choice. It should protect you against most hackers.

Open networks are ones where individuals can freely establish a connection to the access point and the Internet. There is no need for a network key, password, or authentication. Many coffee houses, libraries, and other hot spots provide free access in this manner. Individuals simply need to know the SSID of the network, and generally laptops have software built in that enables the laptop to detect the SSIDs of the available networks in range

Crime: 

Open WAPs create the opportunity for bad people

• to anonymously access bad stuff. 
• to do bad things (including criminal activity, copyright infringement, distributing pornography or child pornography or launching spam.
• to intercept transmissions over your network.
• to hack into computers, and possibly inflect them or steal data, including the risk of identity theft.

Open wifi networks are problematic because they create an untraceable opportunity for criminals. When an individual visits a website on the Internet, that website generally records the IP address number of the individual. If the individual is doing something illegal, then that activity can be traced back to that IP number. If the police can trace the IP number to an individual subscriber, they can attempt to arrest the individual. When an individual gains Internet access using an open wifi network at a coffee house, then the IP number of that coffee house is recorded in the server log and investigators are unable to tell which person at the coffee house it was that visited that site. Likewise, if the individual gains Internet access through an open network in residential neighborhood, say that of the Shyam', then the police will trace the IP number back on the Shyam' and come knocking at the Shyam' door .

Other WiFi Security Issues

IP Number Liability

• Your computer on the Internet has an Internet address, an IP number. Everything that is done on your computer leaves that IP number like a bread crumb trail across the Internet. If you visit a site, you IP number is left in the server log, and anyone looking at that log can see that IP number. That IP number belongs to a block of IP numbers assigned to your ISP. In order to trace that IP number back to you, the  ISPs for the subscriber information associated with that IP number. What is provided by the ISP is the name of the individual who subscribed to the ISP; not necessarily the person who visited that Internet site. In the case of home Internet accounts that have open WiFi access points attached to them, the person who visited the site in question can be anyone who wandered in range of the WiFi signal and piggy backed on the account. Even those who have secured Internet access at home, the person who visited the site in question could be any friend, guest, or relative that happened to visit that house and used that computer.

Network Security

• Open wifi networks also create an open door to computers on your network. Depending on the configuration of your computers and your access point, hackers can get access, steal information and upload malicious software.

Eavesdropping

• Data sent between computers over WiFi is out in the open and can be intercepted by anyone within range. Data sent between computers using security will be encrypted and if intercepted is difficult to read (WiFi encryption has reportedly been cracked, but still creates a substantial barrier to reading intercepted traffic). Transmissions over open WiFi access points is not encrypted and is easy to read.

Acceptable Use Policies

• The AUP that a subscriber has with its Internet access provider may (or may not) prohibit sharing of Internet access outside the household (or whomever the AUP restricts it to. If you have an open WiFi access point, you may be in breach of contract. Note that there have been Internet access providers that actively support sharing of access, and will even set up a billing system to enable you to do it for a fee. Also, if your a coffee house and you want to share as a loss-leader, you may be able to acquire a hirer tiered service (one that assumes greater bandwidth consumption) that permits sharing.

Securing Wireless Access Points

Wireless Internet access can offer convenience and mobility. But there are steps you should take to protect your wireless network and the computers on it.

• Use encryption to scramble communications over the network. If you have a choice, Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is stronger than Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).
• Use anti-virus and anti-spyware software, and a firewall.
• Most wireless routers have a mechanism called identifier broadcasting. Turn it off so your computer won't send a signal to any device in the vicinity announcing its presence.
• Change the identifier on your router from the default so a hacker can't use the manufacturer's default identifier to try to access your network.
• Change your router's pre-set password for administration to something only you know. The longer the password, the tougher it is to crack.
• Allow only specific computers to access your wireless network.
• Turn off your wireless network when you know you won't use it.
• Don't assume that public "hot spots" are secure. You may want to assume that other people can access any information you see or send over a public wireless network.
• Change your network password regularly