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AICPA

Charles Spitz and Abe Rein Examine the FCC's Continued Enforcement Against Wi-Fi Blocking for Law360

In a January 19 article for Law360, Hospitality Co-Chair Charles W. Spitz and White Collar Associate Abraham J. Rein look at the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) aggressive, ongoing campaign against Wi-fi blocking. The authors note the FCC's campaign is of particular concern for hotels, resorts, and convention centers - and the companies that provide IT services to them - as well as consumers.

They note: 

“Depending on how strictly the FCC interprets its perceived anti-blocking powers, for example, hotels and convention centers could well be deprived of an effective tool for protecting patrons against dangerous and widespread scams. In one such scam, a would-be cyberthief sets up a Wi-Fi hotspot that acts as an “evil twin” to the business’s legitimate network, giving the bogus wireless network the same name and characteristics as the business’s. When unsuspecting visitors use the illegitimate wireless, the bad actor can often collect the data that passes across his equipment, exposing private information such as usernames, passwords, credit card information and private messages.”