Free Wi-Fi hotspots pose risks to the better safety of our communication and personal data, warns Europol, the central European police agency to fight crime.
As the head of the Europol Rescue Service, Troels Herring, our "sensitive" data and personal information should not be trafficked through free public Wi-Fi hotspots as they can easily be intercepted by hackers.
"Do not share information and sensitive personal data through free and public information Wi-Fi hotspots », Erding emphasizes to the BBC, saying that these should only be sent using secure networks and, ideally, from one's personal computer to home of.
His warning comes, as he said, after the increase of attacks με χρήση δημοσίων Wi-Fi δικτύων. Για τις επιθέσεις χρησιμοποιούνται ήδη γνωστές τεχνικές υποκλοπής δεδομένων μέσω wifi σαν το «Man in the middle» («ο μεσάζοντας») στο οποίο ο χάκερ μπαίνει ανάμεσα στον χρήστη και το hotspot υποκλέπτοντας την μεταξύ τους κίνηση δεδομένων. Ένας άλλος τρόπος είναι να «σηκώσει» ο ίδιος ο επιτιθέμενος ένα κακόβουλο hotspots για να παγιδεύσει τα θύματα του και να κλέψει τα στοιχεία όσων συνδεθούν σε αυτά.
These hackers usually set up fake Wifi spots with "friendly" names of well-known companies such as "Starbucks Wi-Fi" in order to mislead users and steal information. That's why, as experts on the security of online communication point out, the solution is one and simple: to confirm the validity of the free wi-fi by asking the employees of the company that offers it.
Source: tovima.gr