<\/p>\n
From uncovered webcams to reused passwords, it\u2019s tough to keep track of how much risk our everyday digital activities actually pose.<\/p>\n
Take wi-fi networks in airports and coffee shops. They\u2019re part of life for anyone who travels or works remotely. They also have a reputation as cybersecurity risks. Do they still deserve it?<\/p>\n
To see what potential hackers could see on a shared network, we invited professionals from cybersecurity company Avast to \u201ccompromise\u201d my home network (all with my consent). We logged onto the same network at the same time, just like we would at a coffee shop, to see how much data a bad actor with a few free tools could learn about an unassuming wi-fi user.<\/p>\n
What we found might be a relief for the coffee shop crowd.<\/p>\n
After a few minutes clicking around my finance, work, streaming and social media accounts, Avast\u2019s team could see the sites I\u2019d visited (though not what I\u2019d done there), the time of day and the specific device I used (in this case, a MacBook Pro). <\/p>\n
It\u2019s not nothing, but it wouldn\u2019t do hackers much good if they were looking to rip me off. It\u2019s also relatively reckless for hackers to sit around messing with public networks, said Chester Wisniewski, a principal research scientist at security company Sophos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat type of data isn\u2019t only low yield, it\u2019s high risk,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I can phish your password from my chair in Moldova and have zero risk of going to jail, why would I get on an airplane and go to your local Starbucks?\u201d<\/p>\n
In the internet\u2019s earlier days, the vast majority of web traffic was unencrypted \u2013 meaning anyone savvy enough to eavesdrop on a network could see everything you typed into a website. By 2017, the balance had shifted, with more than half of all web traffic using the encrypted \u201cHTTPS\u201d protocol you may recognise from the top of your browser, according to data pulled from the Firefox browser. <\/p>\n
Today, few legitimate sites remain unencrypted, with more than 90% of webpages loaded in the US obscured from prying eyes, according to the Firefox data. (If you\u2019re curious whether a given site is encrypted, look for \u201cHTTPS\u201d in the URL, or site address. Pages with \u201cHTTP\u201d are unencrypted. Unfortunately, there\u2019s no way to tell at a glance if a mobile app encrypts its traffic.)<\/p>\n
This means even if someone used a public network to spy on you, what they\u2019d discover probably wouldn\u2019t be very valuable, Wisniewski said.<\/p>\n
Government employees, dissidents and anyone else dealing with sensitive data can use a trusted virtual private network (VPN) to cloak their activities, said Russ Housley, founder of cybersecurity consultancy Vigil Security. <\/p>\n
Since VPNs hide your IP address and web activity from everyone except the VPN provider, they help guard against both hacking and invasive advertising. Keep in mind that not all VPNs are trustworthy and many fail to protect against government surveillance if you\u2019re travelling overseas, Housley noted.<\/p>\n
Still, for the rest of us, public wi-fi networks aren\u2019t totally threat-free. Mom-and-pop shops are unlikely to keep up with necessary wi-fi maintenance such as firmware updates and strong passwords, said Aaron Rinehart, co-founder and chief technology officer at cybersecurity company Verica. A truly committed criminal could impersonate a public network or website to try to steal credentials, he said.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s a lot less likely than someone taking advantage of, say, your reused passwords or outdated software. Focus your energies on cybersecurity chores within your control \u2013 such as setting strong passwords, saying \u201cyes\u201d to software updates and learning the signs of a scam \u2013 and don\u2019t sweat the public wi-fi too hard.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, using public wi-fi is safe so long as your computer is up-to-date and you encrypt all of your data,\u201d said Eric Rescorla, chief technology officer at Firefox-maker Mozilla.<\/p>\n
If a site, link or app seems sketchy, steer clear. And check out our Cybersecurity Reset guide for more tips on avoiding hackers and malware.<\/p>\n
The Washington Post<\/strong><\/p>\n