This is very important and topical news. Nintendo of Japan recently released a statement warning players to stop using the Nintendo USB Wi-Fi Connector and Nintendo Wi-Fi Network Adapter, if they were released between 2005 and 2008, due to security concerns. These were primarily used for the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection network service for the Wii and DS which has already been discontinued. So, if you were hanging onto these and were somehow still using it, stop.
Why release a statement about it over ten years after it has been discontinued? It was recently found to have several security flaws that would make it simple for ne’er-do-wells to hack into your device and get your data, which is, surprisingly, a bad thing. According to the statement*, “The main SSID is set to no security. In addition, although the sub SSID is fixed to WEP, there is a possibility that the encryption method will be decrypted in a short time by a third party.”
Of course, this is effecting a very small portion of the population due to the age of the devices and the fact that the services they were used for have been discontinued for years. So, if you were planning on using these for some sort of networking project in the future, maybe consider something with a bit more security.
*Statement translated from Japanese using Google Translate
