the tail doesn't wag the dog

so i see this news item, the headline of which implies that an unprotected wifi drop was to blame for a bank getting robbed of a cool quarter mil.

of course, i figured it would be about the bank's own wifi being left open or something.

but noooooooooooooo...i couldn't have been more wrong, altho nowhere near as wrong as the story.

for all the media morons who engage in sloppy tech reporting, here's a quick lesson in how a simple thing like cause-and-effect actually works. maybe you should try this kind of approach for your next story:

when a bank's own head of data security gives accomplices stolen software and bogus access codes to carry out illegal transactions...it is an inside job. nothing high-tech or hard to understand about that.

now, to help divert suspicion, the accomplices used an open wifi drop to carry out the transactions.

the thieves could have used a damn tin can and string to connect, but that still wouldn't change the fact that without the access set up by the bank's employee, they wouldn't have gotten in.

pushing the wifi angle is sloppy at best.

finally, the last two lines of the story state:

Risu said it's difficult for companies to guard against this type of crime when internal staff are involved. "I suppose they could make their recruitment process more airtight," he said.

gee...you don't say.