{"id":804,"date":"2022-01-21T13:34:01","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T20:34:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/?p=804"},"modified":"2022-01-21T13:34:05","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T20:34:05","slug":"unsecure-public-wi-fi-networks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/2022\/01\/21\/unsecure-public-wi-fi-networks\/","title":{"rendered":"Unsecure Public Wi-Fi Networks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph\">Public Wi-Fi networks are becoming more and more abundant. Recent reports show that there are over <strong>410,000<\/strong> public Wi-Fi networks in the United States<sup>[1]<\/sup>. While this is a good thing for the general public, it is <strong>also a good thing for malicious hackers<\/strong>. There is no guarantee that the Wi-Fi hotspot you are using is secure, and this creates a <strong>gold mine for hackers<\/strong> who want to take advantage of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Some of the many risks associated with public hotspots:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Not paying attention<\/strong>&#8211; Some people just assume that the hotspot they are connected to is secure, and this makes them more susceptible to malicious hackers<sup>[2]<\/sup>.<\/li><li><strong>Lack of encryption<\/strong>&#8211; Countless Wi-Fi hotspots lack sufficient encryption and in some cases, have no encryption at all. This makes the Wi-Fi hotspots very susceptible to hackers breaking in and stealing people\u2019s information<sup>[2]<\/sup>.<\/li><li><strong>Lack of password protection<\/strong>&#8211; A lot of public hotspots lack secure passwords, and some lack passwords at all. This makes it effortless for hackers to gain access to the network and hack into your data<sup>[2]<\/sup>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"616\" height=\"611\" data-src=\"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-02-14-at-10.38.35-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-807 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-02-14-at-10.38.35-1.png 616w, https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-02-14-at-10.38.35-1-300x298.png 300w, https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/115\/2022\/01\/Screen-Shot-2020-02-14-at-10.38.35-1-150x150.png 150w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 616px) 100vw, 616px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 616px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 616\/611;\" \/><figcaption>Unsecure Wi-Fi hotspots<sup>[3]<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>My personal experience with public Wi-Fi networks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have never had my data leaked while using a public hotspot, <em>knock on wood<\/em>, but that is because I have always taken extra precautions when using these networks. For one, I have never and will never use online banking in a public hotspot. That would be like inviting a hacker to access my bank account. You can never know for sure that a public hotspot is secure, it is my opinion that <strong>it is unwise to access any sensitive or private data on these networks<\/strong>. Stuff like Instagram, Facebook, and the likes are all fine, but something like bank statements or government records would not be a good idea.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>How the government is keeping public hotspots secure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Governments around the world have begun to impose rules for these networks to keep them secure<sup>[1]<\/sup>. One of these rules is what I will be focusing on, and that is <strong>DNS filtering<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>DNS filtering<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">DNS filtering is a great way to protect users in public hotspots. DNS filtering acts as a barrier or <strong>second layer of protection<\/strong> from hackers. This works by preventing the threats from ever reaching your device. DNS filtering prevents connections to shady or unsecure websites that might try to steal your data. Another feature of this is that the business or whoever owns and controls the public hotspot can choose what websites to block. For example, they can block pornographic websites, websites that involve violence, etc. to create a <strong>safer environment<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>VPN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another way to make these public networks secure, would be to use a VPN. Although in my opinion this is <strong>not very practical<\/strong>. Only the user who has the VPN is protected and not the whole network, so multiple VPNs would be required. With the sheer amount of public hotspots, and the many more users who access those hotspots, having that many VPNs is <strong>not feasible on a large scale<\/strong>. A VPN works by creating a private secure connection with the network, and this can encrypt whatever data you access. However, this is a good option if you want to have <strong>extra protection for yourself<\/strong>, but you have to take into account that most VPN services come with a <strong>monthly fee<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:28px\"><strong>Final thoughts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Public Wi-Fi networks have come a long way in the past 10 years, but they now must focus on the <strong>issue of security<\/strong>. Public Wi-Fi networks are not always secure, so it is better to play it safe than to get \u201cpwned\u201d. I will continue to <strong>exercise caution<\/strong> when I access these public networks and I strongly advise you to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/thehackernews.com\/2022\/01\/dont-use-public-wi-fi-without-dns.html\">https:\/\/thehackernews.com\/2022\/01\/dont-use-public-wi-fi-without-dns.html<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.perimeter81.com\/blog\/wi-fi\/public-wi-fi-risks-protect-your-clients\">https:\/\/www.perimeter81.com\/blog\/wi-fi\/public-wi-fi-risks-protect-your-clients<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.vpncity.com\/how-to-stay-safe-on-public-wifi-with-vpn\/\">https:\/\/blog.vpncity.com\/how-to-stay-safe-on-public-wifi-with-vpn\/<\/a>&nbsp;<\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Public Wi-Fi networks are becoming more and more abundant. Recent reports show that there are over 410,000 public Wi-Fi networks in the United States[1]. While this is a good thing for the general public, it is also a good thing for malicious hackers. There is no guarantee that the Wi-Fi hotspot you are using is &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/2022\/01\/21\/unsecure-public-wi-fi-networks\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Unsecure Public Wi-Fi Networks&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":359,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cpsc-329-602-w22","entry"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Owen Fielder","author_link":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/author\/owen-fielder\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/359"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=804"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":827,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/804\/revisions\/827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}