What sometimes goes unmentioned is that those Open Wi-Fi networks leave the owners of those networks vulnerable too.
Unfortunately, many small businesses (and even some bigger ones) fail the wireless security test – they’re guilty of one of the more common of the “7 Deadly IT Sins.”
As Sophos Global Head of Security Research James Lyne discovered in his “warbiking” research experiments, around one-third of the Wi-Fi networks he scanned had no encryption or outdated encryption.
That means a hacker could spy on wireless traffic or trick users into visiting phony websites designed for phishing – stealing their account logins, passwords or financial information.
These small business Wi-Fi networks often used default network names, and likely default network passwords as well – making it easy for cybercriminals to connect to the network, putting sensitive data at risk.
Bad security practices are common, often because – as James explains in the video below – IT departments fail to update configurations over time, what he calls “configuration drift.”
If you’re guilty of the IT sin of unsecure Wi-Fi, we’ve got some tips and resources to help you.
Check out our 7 Deadly IT Sins website to learn more about how to protect your business from this and other security sins.
