At the infamous Black Hat 2007 Conference, a demonstration of hacker technology showed just how insecure up to 95% of wireless hotspots are in a very graphic demonstration...
At the start of the presentation, one audience member’s cookies and session identifiers were captured from the air while he was browsing the Internet on a laptop via an unsecured wireless access point set up by the conference organisers. The unlucky guy’s e-mail inbox was displayed on a huge projection at the front of the stage, 20ft wide and 10ft high.
Most hackers won’t announce so publicly that they’ve captured your data from that free Orlando, Fl hotel wifi hotspot or are free-riding on your Internet connection.
The University of Cambridge found in 2006 that out of 2,500 access points around their university campus, 46% were insecure – and that’s at one of the world’s top universities. Other studies have shown that up to 95% of wi-fi hotspot installations are unsecured.
The reason behind this high rate of insecurity is just that most hotspots come unsecured out of the box and people don’t have the technical knowledge to secure networks and don’t see it as a problem – but there is definitely cause for concern when leaving your network open.
A connection can be made to a wireless network from up to 500ft away with a wifi antenna, from a passing vehicle or neighbouring home. From here a hacker can access the Internet anonymously to commit cybercrimes, or access computers on your home or business network.
Convenience of public wifi hotspots around Orlando can trump security concerns – hackers can create fake access points to capture data which can be used to access your e-mail inbox, private websites or even your company’s VPN.
Projected Use
It is expected that wireless internet use will continue to rise as more devices gain wifi capabilities (from mobile phones to Nintendo wifi games consoles to refrigerators) – over 970 million new devices will be attached to wireless networks in the next 3 years, many of which will contain sensitive personal data. By 2010 wireless Internet usage will double that of cellphones.
So how can I secure my wireless network?
Nearly all wireless products contain some kind of security features, but customers often find the setup difficult so the features remain unused. Others are misconfigured to give the illusion of being secured, but can still easily be broken into – most wireless routers built more than 3-4 years ago are set up to use the WEP encryption protocol which does not stand up to any kind of hacker attack for more than a couple of minutes.
This problem can be solved by either upgrading the firmware of the router or replacing the unit with a newer model.
Setting up your own wireless network
When installing a new wireless router in your home or business:
- Change the default SSID of your access point (ie. do not use “linksys”, “NETGEAR”, etc) so hackers can’t figure out who manufactured your equipment as this may allow them to find security flaws
- Make sure the name of your network doesn’t disclose your name, your company’s name or where you are located
- Make sure you use WPA or WPA2 encryption, and that you’ve installed the latest firmware for your router (you can download this from the manufacturer’s website)
- Change any default passwords
- Disable remote access to the router from the Internet
- If you don’t expect any guests or visitors to want to use your connection, you can enable MAC address authentication to limit connections to computers in your home.
Tips when using free public wifi hotspots in Orlando
Unsecured wifi use is always going to be risky. However, it is very convenient to be able to check your mail while sipping a latte. Always ensure that you:
- Have your computer’s firewall and anti-virus software turned on, and all the latest updates installed
- Do not enter any sensitive information over an unsecured connection (check that your address bar says https:// at the beginning)
- Try to avoid entering sensitive information at all – avoid online banking sites or your company’s private network if at all possible
Our Orlando Wifi Wireless Network Security and Installation Services If you are in the Orlando or Four Corners/Davenport area with an existing wireless network and you would like a computer security audit performed to ensure that your home or business is safe from criminals and snoopers please contact us – our rates are very reasonable and we will leave you with peace of mind that your valuable information is safe. We can install, upgrade and secure a wireless network in your business – whether it’s for public use (ie. a café wifi installation, a hotel wireless network in Orlando or other public business), or for private use in your Orlando, Fl business office network. If you're worried that someone could be hacking into your network right now then call us immediately! To ask questions or leave comments about this article feel free to post in our FREE Community Help forum . |
