One out of every 4 Wifi access points in public are at risk of being hacked – BioBioChile

After analyzing the information relating to more than 31 million hotspots or access points Wifi audiences around the world, those in charge of the software of computer security Kaspersky Lab have discovered that the 25% of the networks public Wifi in the world lack any type of protection or encryption password.

that Is to say, the information they convey is completely open and can be read by third parties. Another 3% of the hotspots used WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) to encrypt data. This protocol is unreliable can be hacked in a matter of minutes using tools that are available for free on the Internet.

The nearly three-quarters remaining Wifi hotspots to use a more reliable encryption, based on the family of protocols of Access Wifi Protected (WPA, for its acronym in English). The effort required to hack these networks depends on the configuration, including the strength of the password.

For example, if it is a weak password, or that can be accessed by the public (for example, which is used in a café), a criminal and also will be able to decrypt the traffic that is being transmitted.
it is worth noting that the 20 countries that have the largest percentage of Wifi hotspots are not encrypted, which include many popular tourist destinations: Thailand, France, Israel, the united States, among others.

travellers are among the most vulnerable because the Wifi hotspot closest available is often the only way to stay connected. At the same time, another study suggests that only 57% of Internet users are concerned that their data may be intercepted during a session of Wifi.

"we Advise all users to stay alert when they connect to a Wifi network. Do not use wireless access points without passwords, and also public access points to perform high-risk activities such as banking transactions or online shopping, access to sites, or to transfer confidential information", explained Denis Legezo, expert in antivirus at Kaspersky Lab.

"If that type of traffic is intercepted by a third party, could result in serious losses, including financial losses. And, of course, are strongly recommended to use additional measures to protect the traffic, as the technology virtual private network (VPN, for its acronym in English)", added.

The flagship solutions Kaspersky Internet Security and Kaspersky Total Security now integrate the new function Secure Connection that encrypts all data sent and received through a communication channel. According to the configuration used by the user, Secure Connection can be run automatically when you try to connect to an insecure network or to perform operations potentially vulnerable in line.

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