A while ago someone was showing off their LEGO creation in my social media feed: a brick-built QR-code containing the credentials to their WiFi network. People rushed to tell them that they shouldn’t share this info publicly, but they appeared unconcerned, for who would actually even know where their network was physically located, right? Can’t do any harm to it if you can’t find it. But could you? Surely there are databases of networks available online? It turns out there are indeed services like WiGLE that catalogue WiFi access points, Bluetooth devices, and cellphone towers around the world. It relies on people using their Android app and submitting the found networks to the site’s database. Out of curiosity I installed the app and did a bike ride of some 25 km around the city, and much to my surprise logged a whopping 5000 WiFi networks and some 10000 Bluetooth devices! It was a revealing moment when I stopped on a bridge over a highway and looked at the app, and it showed…
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