So, rewind back a few years, back to sort of 2007. It was the age of the smartphone. More and more people had devices that allowed them to go online without a computer, and so public places like restaurants had to cater to this new trend. Public Wi-Fi was born, and the people rejoiced. A gift of a free WiFi network while you ate or had a coffee? Was it too good to be true? Sadly, that’s because it was. Connecting to public Wi-Fi is now a dangerous and highly stupid thing to do, and here’s why.
No Security, No Safety, No Sense
The immediate problem with connecting to a public Wi-Fi is that in many cases they don’t have any security or safety. All you need to do is connect via a registration process and you’re good to go. This is, understandably, not a good idea when you think about what’s lurking in the shadows.
Viruses, personal information theft, credit card skimming - these are all things you can look forward to if you make the mistake of connecting to a public network. A big problem is that a lot of people don’t read the fine print - by connecting to these networks, they are giving people access to their personal information whether they consent or not.
GDPR - Transparency and Cursed Knowledge
When they introduced GDPR to businesses properly, every entity was required to be more transparent with their business practices. Understandably, this meant that the race was on to make sure people knew what they were connecting to.
From a security perspective, you open yourself up to hacks, cybernetic attacks and the theft of personal information. You’re on an insecure network, and there are no restrictions to how that can be used against you.
Protecting Yourself and Others
Now you have an obligation to protect your interests here, esteemed readers. You need to look after your personal information like it was the most sensitive and demanding baby on the planet. That’s why using a personal Wi-Fi system - like a dongle or Mi-Fi for example - is the best option here that you should consider
You should consider stopping using public networks. They’re not generally safe, they’re not sensible, and, if we could entertain the prospect for a moment, they’ve probably already taken the information of millions. Protect your passwords, protect your bank details, protect yourself. Start using a private Wi-Fi system of your own using superfast 4G connection. Don’t leave it to chance on a public network.
So let’s recap on what we’ve learned here today. Public Wi-Fi isn’t as a rule safe or can as a minimum leave your personal data exposed. It probably never will be, because the costs of purging the systems and then encrypting them are too high. Now, these services do exist and you have a chance to use them when you go out for drinks or you stop in your local library to catch up on work. But should you do that? No, probably not. Make the smart choice, when considering using these public networks.
I would be interested in any comments from the community, especially any Cyber Security and GDPR opinions on the topic?
Comments