Rogue Wi-Fi routers targeted by ITS

The University provides three on-campus Wi-Fi channels — but for some faculty and staff, that coverage is not sufficient.

Faculty and staff have set up dozens of independent — and unsanctioned — Wi-Fi access points across campus to receive stronger signals in their offices, said Jim Gogan, director of networking systems for Information Technology Services.

These rogue access points interfere with the University’s three nonoverlapping Wi-Fi channels, slowing the Internet for people on the campus network or causing them to lose wireless connection entirely.

Additionally, many of the independently installed access points are not password-protected, causing security concerns, Gogan said.

He said routers in residence halls are not a problem because ResNET sets up student routers per request in a way that won’t interfere with the campus network.

But UNC departments, Gogan said, must pay $1,500 per added access point.

He said the issue of employees setting up independent access points is not new.

“It’s basically been a problem since day one, when wireless access points were first installed 10 years ago,” he said.

But he added ITS has recently taken more notice of the issue, spurring a concerted effort to track and shut down the rogue devices.

Todd Lane, ITS network specialist, said ITS monitors the campus channels for interference and tracks down the devices.

“It’s a very time-consuming task,” he said.

Gogan said the next step for ITS is to contact the offending department’s ITS director or department head. Those individuals then find the devices and ask the owners to turn them off.

Lane said people are usually unaware of the problems these devices cause. He said no one has ever refused to turn off the device after being confronted with the issue.

But that doesn’t mean all are happy to oblige.

William Kim, professor of medicine and genetics, was asked Tuesday to take down his wireless device. He said he felt inconvenienced by the request because the device wasn’t being used for Internet.

The ITS director for UNC’s Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center — where Kim works — asked him to turn off his Apple AirPort Express, which he was using to play music wirelessly.

“I thought it was a little ridiculous,” Kim said.

“It seemed there would be no harm.”

But Kim said he was not concerned enough to seek a compromise.

“I didn’t have a huge problem with it, and it certainly wasn’t worth my time to fight it,” he said.

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