4um: LOL

This brought to mind a story I remember from many moons ago. From http://www.dhsnnw.org/newsarticles/mar18_2008.html

Home Network Awareness Program Announced

03/18/08 | Back

The Neighborhood Network Watch announced today the start of a new community program, the Home Network Awareness Program (HNAP). HNAP is aimed at providing an easy way for people to get involved and to contribute to the efforts of the Neighborhood Network Watch as well as providing the group with valuable information on the states of networks that reside in the homes of our nation.

Participants in HNAP would collect sample network traffic from their own home networks as well as samples from networks within the vicinity. The Neighborhood Network Watch will be making a set of freely available instructions on how to capture network traffic, using the open source packet sniffer TCPDUMP, and how to log onto nearby wireless networks that maybe being operated by neighbors.

These samples of network traffic would then be sent to the Neighborhood Network Watch for analysis using the latest revision of the NNWKAA. The participants would then be sent back a rating for each network along with a rating for the area as a whole.

This allows the participants to not only find out how their own home network is being used but also valuable information about those around their home that may have large amounts of terrorist related traffic flowing over them. This also provides the Neighborhood Network Watch with the ability to see if there is potential terrorist cell activity in or around the participants homes.

The Neighborhood Network Watch will also be releasing a new public service announcement highlighting the goals of HNAP and a how to section on how to search for networks as well as how to capture network traffic.

Home Network Awareness Program

The communities across our beloved nation have never been at a greater risk than they are today. However, the greatest threat that we have to combat within the community is primarily invisible and typically intangible. This threat is terrorism. Since terrorists operate in cells that embed themselves within the community they often go completely unnoticed, not unlike the terrorists who carried out the September 11th attacks.

Identifying terrorists is no easy task since they become a part of the community and rely on its resources, especially for communication. Cities, towns, and suburbs all across our nation often have computer networks. These networks are located within places of business, commerce, as well as our homes. With the widespread adoption and usage of wireless networks, it has created a climate that is ripe for exploitation by terrorists. Since these networks often times are unsecured or offered as a free service to the public it allows any individual to use them, including terrorists. Even the networks that reside in our homes can be used by terrorists who maybe our own neighbors or fellow building residents.

Therefore it is imperative that these networks do not go unmonitored. That is why the Neighborhood Network Watch was established and why now the Home Network Awareness Program has been created to allows individuals like yourself to make sure that terrorists may not be using your own home network to plan the next attack on our nation or your very own community.

If you are interested in participating in the Home Network Awareness Program please download the in depth step by step guide to collecting network data with TCPDUMP, "How To Sniff Network Traffic." Also, watch the following public service announcements:

Introduction to the Home Network Awareness Program
How to Watch Terrorist Activity on My Home Network, as well as My Neighbors

To contribute data you have collected, please visit the Home Network Awareness Program Wiki. Sign up for an account on the wiki and upload your data using the "upload file" link on the left hand side. Also, add yourself to the appropriate city roster or create a page for your city and add yourself to the roster.

Any questions should be emailed to hnap@dhsnnw.org.