Rootkits and Wireless Vulnerabilities, Oh My!

A friend of mine recently sent me this email which includes a description of the wireless 'vulnerability' from the Washington Post.

" I just read an article in the morning paper about how easy it is to hack into any computer (including a Mac or mac book) of people who are using wireless connections at airports, restaurants, libraries etc. They drop something called a root kit into the computer by exploiting the wireless card - the root kit is an undetectable program that logs passwords and accesses sensitive files. The demonstration showed that they can quickly hack into the laptops of people with the wireless cards in their computers who are using their computers in public places even when they are not logged onto the wireless system or online."

This is why the headline was so damaging and so dangerous. From this description all the nuances of the vulnerability have fallen away and we remain with the words rootkit and the idea that anyone can send a rootkit into any system, anywhere. If people like me then point out the subtleties of this particular problem it makes the Washington Post article seem false and overblown. Do this enough times and people will start ignoring the message just as they now seem to ignore articles about viruses and malware.
The Washington Post blog headline was irresponsible.