Accused Teen Bomber Finds FBI Surveillance Team's Wireless Network 267
roccomaglio writes "The suspect who is accused of planning to bomb his high school in Tampa updated his Facebook status with the following: 'The weirdest thing happened today...when my homie Nic Peezy was trying to connect to a wireless network the connections list came up and one of them was called: FBI_SURVEILLANCE_VAN,' The FBI might want to revisit their wireless network naming conventions."
BS (Score:5, Insightful)
I don't believe that one bit. First off, we can assume that the FBI has more than one surveillance van, in which they can't all have the same SSID. They would include some sort of vehicle ID, etc. Second, this kid was living in some delusional word trying to make himself out to be a lot more than he was. I think he was hinting to his friends on FB and trying to sound like a badass of some sort. He was obviously running his mouth about his plans, which is how he was caught - someone turned him in. Perhaps that was his way of reaching out for help before he actually acted. Regardless, just because he posted it on FB doesn't mean that his friend really saw that wireless SSID.
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I know your post is complete bullshit but I'd report that van as suspicious and then mention some young Arab men who come to check on it. Sit back and enjoy the show.
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", in which they can't all have the same SSID"
that not?
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That not? THAT NOT? WTH?
"Why not?"
I need to get new meds.
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The FBI isn't that dumb. Sorry folks nothing to see here it never happened.
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You can easily sniff for MAC addresses of wireless clients, and assume one yourself. The network would have to be using WEP for you to actually get access, though.
Also, how do you know that someone else who knows the van there isn't just messing around with their SSID, playing a joke? You seem to be assuming an awful lot.
Critical thinking - it's what's for dinner.
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Probably uses a Mac. Apple hasn't caught onto that little fact you see, so any Apple device dies horribly when exposed to multiple networks using the same BSSID/ESSID.
Correction (Score:2)
Correction: Teen posts some BS about finding a FBI wifi network.
Really? Do we believe everything some jerkoff posts on Facebook now?
The article itself is pretty amazing: it's mostly a report of the kids social media posts. WTF is that? Journalism?
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And a report of the FBI actually arresting the kid. Did you read the same article?
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Actually you might want to re-read that.
The Tampa Police are taking credit for the investigation and the arrest. The only mention of FBI in the story was the reference to the FB post.
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Local, state, fed, mil - its all local now.
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Correction: Teen posts some BS about finding a FBI wifi network.
Really? Do we believe everything some jerkoff posts on Facebook now?
Next Slashdot story (subscribers can see it early!) - "Photo of yummy sandwich".
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Don't run! Is only sandvich!
http://www.steamgames.com/tf2/heavy/sandvich.htm [steamgames.com]
Ah ha ha ha ha! Baloney!
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It's on the internet. Doesn't that make it true?
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I dunno, looks legit to me.
In fact.. it looks... too legit... too legit to quit.
I do this (Score:2)
I usually name my wifi "_SURVEILLANCE" just to mess with my neighbors
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Same reason mine's named "Virus Testbed".
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pure urban myth (Score:3, Informative)
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Remember to use a different number from the rest of your neighbors.
Is this a joke? (Score:2)
My roommate and myself had that as our SSID for years.
I am so doing this on my network (Score:2)
Or maybe, al_qaeda_local_549
.
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How about "infected_node_347*1" ?
They're swtiching to NON_DESCRIPT_VAN (Score:5, Funny)
Nothing to see here folks, just a white van with men in suits and ties inside.
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They've spotted us! Quick, use the flashy thing on them!
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The cartoon bear in the back makes me nervous...
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I prefer "Flowers By Irene".
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Nonsense! Just a bunch of men in an unmarked van watching your children walk down the street, that's all. Nothing unusual about it, folks.
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No, they fetch their friends which arrive in NO_SUCH_AUTOMOBILE
actually, it's counter-espionage (Score:2)
Nothing to see here folks, just a white van with men in suits and ties inside.
and Guy Fawkes masks...
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That would freak me out!
I think I will go with (Score:2)
something like LocalPD_NarcoticsSquad!
"I_got_pussy_for_installation" (Score:2)
"I_got_pussy_for_installation" was one ssid I saw once(well, thrice). it wasn't exactly that string though, as it was in finnish. funny anyways.
anyhow, if some neighbor of his(this guy) knew of the fbi raid or surveillance, they might have just put it up to spite. the ssid i saw might've been intentional by some tongue in cheek chick - or not.
Outrageous SSIDs are everywhere (Score:2)
My SSID is "SHOCKING PORN" and when my sister-in-law got wifi, I made sure she understood there was a password and we set the SSID to "Fuck Off, Freeloaders!"
My general experience is that most of the time the immediate neighbors on both sides wifi bleeds in/out at about 1 "bar" of strength, so its not like anybody even sees the SSIDs unless they are in my house or outside.
Duh! and Dummer (Score:2)
VERIFICATION PLEASE?! (Score:2)
Look, I title my WiFi networks weird things all the time, just because I know strangers will see it and be confused. Some are great wordplay, some are simply bizarre non-sequitors, some of them are downright disgusting, and some are deliberately misleading.
My hunch is that this network is NOT that of an actual FBI surveillance van, but the product of a fun-loving person setting up their router.
That said, it would be pretty simple to use wifi sniffing tools to pinpoint the source of the signal and actually,
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Announcing your presence and watching the results can be very telling.
FBI isn't stupid, and they do know their business*. They are educated. So it's best to assume something else is going on then to assume they are stupid; not that mistakes don't happen.
It's lie someone doing a magic trick, and they pull the wrong card.haha what a moron..then 2 minutes later you are opening an egg with your card in it.
I'm renaming my SSID (Score:2)
Even now, as I write this.
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So is that kid's neighbor...lulz
Doesn't everybody do that? (Score:2)
My cell phone is "Flowers By Irene" whenever I enable wifi tethering.
I have an extra WI-FI Router (Score:2)
TSA - Now that's a name (Score:2)
it's time (Score:2)
CIA SAFE HOUSE (Score:2)
Roughly 10 years ago, I was war-driving and one of the hotspots came up: 'CIA SAFE HOUSE'. The sad part was, I wasn't sure if it was a joke or if someone was actually that daft. It was a posh area of town, so I'm still undecided to this day.
Fail (Score:2)
And after reading this story, the FBI circulated a memo instructing that the SSID should be changed to TOTALLY_NOT_FBI_SURVEILLANCE from now on.
You Really Think They'd Broadcast a SSID? (Score:2)
But I'm totally changing my sprint mobile SSID to that and leaving the roaming wlan on from now on...
Since the story is bogus (Score:2)
A story of my own. I set my SSID to "flancrest enterprises" and a few days later I noticed one of my neighbors had changed theirs to "CompuGlobalHyperMegaNet". True story.
Really??? (Score:2)
This has to be the dumbest fucking story I have ever read on this site. I can't tell if this article is serious or meant for a laugh. Sadly I think it is serious.
As I write this, there is a nearby access point named "CIA Surveillance Van". You think that is the fucking CIA? Should submit a story about that?
Jesus fucking christ. This is a new low for this site.
Right.... (Score:2)
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Or:
"Please, ignore this van; we are not spies."
renaming your WiFi AP to government agency (Score:2)
Does that count as impersonating an officer of the law? Barring some over zealous district attorney...
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No, it doesn't. It really needs to be something that actually identifies you as an officer, eg a fake id. I can wear a shirt that says FBI on it and that's fine. If I tried to use the shirt to get into a secured area, that would be different as I'd be using it for identification.
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Re:And... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Unless it was a honeypot open wifi, to allow for packet sniffing. Admittedly, I don't know why one would try to cover their tracks by using a network by that name, even if they thought it was fake.
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Re:And... (Score:5, Funny)
My son came home from college in 2010 and while attempting to connect him to our home network, I see in his connection history, an SSID of all numbers, like 000-00-0000. It took me a moment, but then realized some douche in his dorm must have been running a wifi access point and when he saw 'SSID', must have assumed it meant Social Security ID.
I wonder if the kid ever purchased a Lifelock subscription.
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It could have been an intentional joke. It was a dorm, after all.
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If the Feds had a sense of humor, they'd name it Party_Van instead.
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I'm supposing you've never tried to keep a lot of gear in a vehicle.
Unnecessary wires are devilspawn.
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FTFY.
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Mine's been called "FBI Headquarters" for years...
Re:And... (Score:5, Funny)
I have an extra router, unconnected to anything with the ID 'Pussy4hire'.
You can't imagine how many teens in the neighborhood are trying to hack it.
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Mine is: Please_Share_Your_Personal_Info_With_ME
Wide open WiFi for 2 years, in a 200 unit condo, and Never had anyone log on!
Of course not. Who would want to share any kind of info with Windows ME?
Re:TBO.com? (Score:5, Informative)
What the fuck is wrong with slashdot? This is beyond obviously fake. I know four people who've named their wireless networks that. It's a goddamned meme.
Re:TBO.com? (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh wait, it's samzenpus. I get it. I done been trolled.
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Fun fact: samzenpus is really Junis, editing slashdot from his sweet Linux-running Amiga in Afghanistan.
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Yeah. I know of at least 2-3 people who have created fake FBI_SURVEILLANCE_VAN networks to screw with their neighbors.
Anyone believing that a network with that SSID is actually an FBI van is a complete and total idiot.
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I bet you believe in bird flight omens too.
Setting aside the fact that he wasn't arrested by the FBI, there is such a thing is pure, banal coincidence.
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Yeah. I know of at least 2-3 people who have created fake FBI_SURVEILLANCE_VAN networks to screw with their neighbors.
Anyone believing that a network with that SSID is actually an FBI van is a complete and total idiot.
When I set my next door neighbors network up I named it DEA_SURVEILLANCE_7. Bunch of youngsters renting a house down the street left shortly after. Probably both events are unconnected.
There is a difference (Score:2)
Sure if you see a random Wifi spot with a spooky name, I would agree with you. But you're missing part of the story. Just before the kid got busted is when the Wifi spot showed up. It wasn't there before. Suddenly the spooky Wifi spot shows up and right after that the kid gets busted.
So if it is a coincidence that a neighbor named his Wifi spot something spooky to keep the kids out, then it's one heck of a coincidence.
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Maybe they should just simply have named it "V&".
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Re:TBO.com? (Score:4, Funny)
Sounds like perfect cover. Who is going to believe the FBI is actually labeling their undercover surveillance van? It is so idiotic, it can't be true.
Ah, but they would have known you'd know that, so you clearly cannot choose the WAP in front of you!
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That begs the question... IS there anything connected to it?
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Sounds like a good strategy.. have a honeypot wifi network with the name corresponding to your last name or address.. Let people waste their time trying to crack it when really it's just your old linksys sitting around. Of course, it's also a waste of power and effort when no one actually cares to see my traffic.
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Yup, I remember seeing this in a reddit "what network id have you used to screw with your neighbors" thread. When something hits around +1000, a word-for-word copy becomes pretty easy to spot.
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I don't know what the fuck you just said little kid, but it touched me deeply.
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If the FBI was investigating him, why was it the Tampa Police who arrested him and took credit?
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the FBI did not think he was L33t enough for them to need to take credit??
The SAIC owed the tampa police a collar for a past favor??
Micheal Weston actually caught the guy and the FBI does not want to take the hit if this is found out??
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There is a difference between being legal to own and being legal to buy (or sell). For instance, it is not legal to sell 23-channel CB radios.
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No, not really. All they need to sniff your packets is a client that can connect to your network (e.g. a laptop or phone). Doesn't stop them from using a completely separate system for their internal communications.
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Nah why broadcast SSID at all to sniff?
They can use off the shelf wifi NICs for that.
Well lets be honest, FBI? Their contractor buys off the shelf NICs, repackages them and sells them for 1000X the price.
Stll not broadcasting an SSID though.
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Wouldn't it be hilarious if they actually did get data out of that somehow?
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Elvish:
"A Slashdot Turambar turún' ambartanen"
So apparently there are word in elvish.
I don't speak entish because it's too much like barking.
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That's only half of their SSID, the full string is "PARTY_VAN_FREE_CANDY".
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I'm "FBI Van #617", been using that SSID for years to fuck with the locals.
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