You walk into your favorite coffee shop where the barista greets you by name. By the time you’ve placed your usual order and wait for it to be prepared, a hacker has already stolen your Facebook password, some banking information, and your email credentials.
It’s no secret that even with free Wi-Fi, you end up paying the price one way or the other.
Wi-Fi hotspot hacking is becoming increasingly popular due to the simplicity in attaining private data from unsuspecting users. A grade school student proved that anyone with a touch of intelligence and an Internet connection can successfully perform a hack. And a hack isn’t limited to the contents of your computer — photos, messages, contacts and browsing history can be accessed from stored cookies on your phone, tablet, or any other device connected to a Wi-Fi network. The information that can be obtained from network hacks can reveal a lot about a person, like the location of your recent vacation, your most embarrassing Google searches, and even where you live!
This type of hack, named a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) Attack, tricks your Internet-enabled device into thinking the hacker’s computer is the certified middleman between your computer and the Internet. Any information being sent through the Internet will initially go through the hacker’s computer, where they can view all the traffic on the network without any of the victims knowing they’ve been compromised.
Sadly, it’s even worse if you’re visiting a location you’ve been to previously. When you use the Wi-Fi at the same place more than once, like your favorite coffee shop for instance, your information becomes accessible before you even consciously begin surf the ‘Net. Because most devices will automatically connect to a network that has been used prior, your information can be available to hackers without you even pulling your phone out of your pocket. Some apps, such as email or location services, consistently pull your newest messages or whereabouts from the Internet as a convenience. With this auto-retrieval method, a hacker could know your name and exact location within a few minutes of digging. Information such as the items in your shopping cart on Amazon or your recently liked pages on Facebook can paint a fairly accurate image of what you look like, but it doesn’t end there.
Since hackers can see the stored information on devices connected to a network, this motivates them to perform more stealthy attacks, like setting up a fake Wi-Fi hotspot with the name of a complimentary network, thus being deemed safe by unsuspecting users.
Now for the good news: Having a VPN protects your information from this elementary attack.