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There is a question on the Superuser forum wherein a bad actor is trying to trick someone into connecting to an access point, presumably so they can sniff information. They are doing this by setting up an access point with a very similar name to their victim.

Were the victim to turn the tables and deliberately make use of the provided connection, using a VPN to neutralise the threat, would they have "plausible deniability" being that the name of the access points were very similar (but bearing in mind they are using a VPN)?

Also, assuming this matter ever went to a court (which I assume is unlikely), could the user use a defense that the other party did not have clean hands? Would it matter if it was dealt with as a Criminal and Civil matter ?

I'm interested in the general concepts underpinning these concepts more then explicit statutes, so pick a jurisdiction if it can help the mental processes!

davidgo
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1 Answers1

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Given that both parties have committed criminal offenses (the 'bad actor' is attempting fraud and the 'victim' has committed unauthorized access to a computer system), no court would hear a civil case between these parties. As a matter of public policy, criminals do not owe a duty of care to each other so no one can win this case.

Dale M
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