Monday, April 25, 2011

Unsecured Wi-Fi Access

During the Black Hat 2007 Conference, a quick parade of hacker tools demonstrated very soon how secure -or not- Wi-Fi hotspots are. Hip the core of a meeting presentation, session identifiers and cookies were captured from the internet browser of a random user accessing an unsecured wireless gesture. The findings? The helpless audience constituent can individual look on as his Gmail inbox was suddenly presented in lieu of all to think about it.

Though this was eye-opening in lieu of many, it shouldn't be. Wireless networks bear been unsecure in lieu of years; in 2006 the University of Cambridge surveyed 2,500 access points of Wi-Fi networks around the University and found 46% were unencrypted (1). An overall estimate puts to facilitate run to even elevated - around 95%.

Current Wi-Fi stats state to facilitate wireless internet habit will individual multiplication. Wireless users are estimated to grow by more than 970 million users in the then three years, bringing the run to of Americans with wireless subscriptions up to 87% (4). By 2010 wireless internet habit will increase by two to facilitate of cell phone habit (5).

These shocking records must create about unease. The excessive run to of unsecure friends increases the possible in lieu of data and identity theft, as well as the loss of control of exact in order.

Though the spanking posture towards Wi-Fi has recently shifted towards disquiet, the low habit of encryption is still a problematic. Many wireless set of connections products bear built-in built-in security skin to facilitate offer added protection or encryption, but customers struggle with the setup, and the skin go off unused.