Top 3 Risks of Free Wi-Fi

Security is an essential need for every human being. Ironically, in an age where communications flash around the world in minutes- and sometimes, even seconds- in many ways, we are less secure than ever. The threats to our privacy and personal information are continually under attack by those who would steal them away. It is a high price to pay for the convenience and freedom wireless connectivity gives us.

We all enjoy the opportunity to work or learn or relax almost anywhere thanks to our omnipresent array of wireless devices. From phones to laptops to tablets, it seems like every day in every way, we are freed from the constraints of home and office. However, threats to your security and privacy exist everywhere. And nothing does more to threaten your privacy than free wi-fi. A public wi-fi network like those found at your local gourmet coffee shop is probably not encrypted or secured. This means that anyone within signal range of that network can viewall of the traffic on that network from a separate location without being seen.

I can hear you now: Angel, it’s just coffee and bagels going on here; How big a threat can it really be? Well, since you asked…here is a list of just a few things that even the least savvy Internet thief can steal from an unsecured wireless network:

  • Your personal information.Once a thief has incognito access (meaning he is logged in but you cannot see him) to a wireless network, he can access any computers linked to that network without the protection of a firewall. In addition, if the thief is listening to traffic on that network, any credentials not transmitted via a secure channel can be seen. For example, the average e-mail account using POP or SMTP servers transmits its credentials and the contents of the messages via unsecured channels.  A thief can see your e-mail address, username, and password every time you send or receive e-mail.  He can also see the contents of your e-mail!
  • Corporate Espionage.Depending on the type of e-mail systems or remote access systems your company employs, an unsecured wireless connection can reveal credentials allowing access to company resources, e-mails containing key company secrets, research and development data, employee information, customer lists and even extremely confidential financial data. What would your competitors pay for this type of information? Are you prepared to deal with this situation if it were to happen? How would your company recover, much less survive, such an event?
  • Identity Theft.This is the category with which most of us are familiar.  Most shopping and banking sites make use of Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt transactions and personal information.  Unfortunately, thieves are developing a variety of malware (malicious software) that is as sophisticated as the protection software in use today. Not only that, they are also developing ways to redirect potential victims to sites so similar to the genuine ones that folks are fooled into giving up their information. As if that wasn’t enough, information thieves work at capturing all those “I forgot my password” e-mails. Why? So they can intercept a password change request and hijack your account.

So you see, no matter how secure you think you are, there exists the very real possibility that someone is targeting your information for their next heist. Frankly, part of the problem is that most users are not as educated to the dangers of Internet theft as they should be. Consider this quote from a Mr. Jimmie Loo, responding in Comments and Feedback to an article entitled, Security Absurdity: The Complete, Unquestionable, and Total Failure of Information Security; A long-overdue wake up call for the security community, written by Noam Eppell:

I personally like to think of the Internet as…a cyber-world as opposed to the real-world. In cyber-world people do much the same thing as in the real-world…And, as in the real-world, there are dangers. In the real-world, we spend years as children learning about…its dangers before we can safely go out on our own. This is not the case in cyber-world. People wander into cyber-world as cyber-toddlers…How can these people be expected to look after themselves in this strange new world?…Cyber-world is too complex and dangerous to jump into without understanding the dangers.

Or as internationally renowned security technologist Bruce Schneier, author of the best-seller, Applied Cryptography, succinctly puts it:

The user’s going to pick dancing pigs over security every time.

So what do we do in the face of these threats? My personal recommendation is to invest in your own wireless connection such as those offered by your cellular company. In addition, I recommend that companies implement Virtual Private Network (VPN) solutions that encapsulate all of the company’s traffic, not just the traffic to and from company resources. For individuals, there are many sites offering free advice on securing your Internet connection at a public wi-fi hotspot.

In the end, being aware of potential security risks coupled with developing a working security plan are the two best moves you can make. There is a third: Call us at (813) 737-0465 and schedule a free IT Security consultation. We can develop and implement a plan that addresses all your IT security requirements.

At DataCorps Technology Solutions, we work hard to ensure our clients’ peace of mind. We can do the same for you.