Privacy, Security & Virus Information

UK WiFi centres are a hacker's paradise according to recent research

In the constant battle to keep hackers at by, the news that one in four wireless networks are wide open to attack will please no one. They remain vulnerable to attack because of a combination of loose security and simile lack of awareness on the part of the people who operate them of what are the basic requirements required to keep these systems safe from unwanted or even accidental intrusion.

Survey and research have shown that more than eighty per cent of British public are convinced that the WiFi networks that they use are secure but they have no idea what is ensuring theory security.

A recent survey established to test security levels of WiFi systems throughout the UK, discovered that of the 50,000 networks tested around 40,000 were found to be at high risk to cyber attacks in their various formats. The company who carried out the survey, which was entirely under cover, actually went as far as employing software experts to act as hackers. These "hacker researchers" used equipment to identify networks that emanated wireless signals excessively into public areas as well as in a within a four-mile radius of them. The hackers were able to easily access usernames and passwords often at a rate hundreds an hour.

As in the true spirit of the News of the World, the security company who carried out the research immediately destroyed all of the passwords and personal details that they had illegally gathered for the purpose of the experiment.

Recently under fire for accidentally gathering too much information while processing Wi-Fi traffic data, Google have augmented several steps that will protect surfers who use WiFi centres.

Self-confessed inadvertent gatherers of website addresses and passwords, Google have publicly acknowledged collecting not only passwords but large data fragments as well as entire e-mail messages, while gathering Street Views they had also picked up Wi-Fi transmission data from unencrypted networks. The issue is under investigation by US government agencies, while a number of web surfers have already filed privacy-breach lawsuits against the company.

The research and Google's findings once again indicate that our private information is under constant risk. Every development designed to make web surfing a more pleasant experience, which WiFi does, has also to be measured for its security risks. And the only full proof method that we have to protect our security on line is to make sure that we have the most up-to-date and powerful anti-virus software on the market installed on our computer to keep the hackers at bay.

 

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