WI-FI Hotspots

Publicly available WI-FI connections or ‘hotspots’ are great for accessing the internet when you are not at home or work. However, not all WI-FI connections are secure and they can be used by cyber criminals to intercept your data. If you connect to a publicly available WI-FI, you don’t know who else is on the network. Your data could be intercepted.

Sniffing

Be aware that if you log into your emails using an app, without typing in the password, the phone will send your password over the WI-FI and could be intercepted. If you use automated passwords and do not enter your username and password manually, these details can still be intercepted.

Evil access points

Cyber criminals can set up their own WI-FI hotspots in an attempt to get you to connect to them. They broadcast a WI-FI connection, usually calling it something like ‘free_WI-FI’ or ‘coffee_shop_wifi’. If you connect to this WI-FI the criminal can capture data you are sending.

How to protect yourself

Remember not all WI-FI hotspots are secure
Don’t use public WI-FI for online banking accessing emails or anything involving personal information. When doing this in public, use your 3G,4G or 5G connection. Data passed over these connections is always encrypted.

Caution
Cyber criminals can capture data on an insecure WI-FI network.
Make sure you are connecting to a trusted WI-FI hotspot, operated by the venue you are at. Ask staff if you’re in any doubt.

Think
Do I need to use a VPN or switch to a 3G,4G or 5G connection?
Use a Virtual private network (VPN) when connecting to public WI-FI. All your data will be encrypted and so if it is intercepted it won’t be readable. VPN’s can be downloaded onto devices as an app.