Kaspersky Warns Against Use of Public Wi-Fi for Official Work over Security Concerns

Does your office work entail you to travel extensively? Do you go on lengthy tours where you often have to work from public places like airports, coffee shops or tube rails? You may have been compromising the security of valuable and sensitive data related to your work unknowingly.

Recently, the Russia-based software company Kaspersky Lab which is famous for its antivirus software, has flagged off such a concern and have warned that transactions and data sharing done in spas, shopping centers or hotel lobbies are not bereft of danger as treacherous data thieves and hackers loom around unsuspecting company executives to steal critical information and hold them hostage.

Report shows senior executives more at risk of attack

In a report released recently, Kaspersky Lab has also claimed that senior executives of a company are more likely to be swindled of sensitive corporate data than money in an increasingly digitally connected world. The report shows that one in every five executives have come under cyber attack abroad and almost 31% of them hold senior managerial positions in a company.

Experts have said that breaking into public Wi-Fi networks is relatively easy for hackers and they often use public networks intentionally to hack into the systems of easy targets who often share sensitive work related data through these public networks without understanding the full consequence of the potential security lapse.

The report suggests that almost one in six people in senior corporate positions try to log on using their work devices as soon as they reach the arrivals’ terminal at an airport as they are always under pressure to stay connected with their office and continuously monitor operations.

Experts say that since open Wi-Fi networks don’t require a pass-phrase key to enter the network (unencrypted), they are extremely easy to hack. Hackers use easily available tools like Wireshark and Firesheep to capture and analyze traffic on these public networks and if they find an easy prey, they swoop into the browsing session and dupe the poor user of critical information.

Antivirus software is critical to prevent these attacks

Experts have said that one possible way to prevent data leakage is by using antivirus software on your computer. There are also encrypted data services available which you can use to protect your data. Another expert advice is that you should only access http secured websites when public browsing.

Use VPN connections

Another way to limit chances of data fraud is by using VPN connections when using unsecured connections. The data transacted is encrypted and hackers usually don’t like to waste too much time in decrypting and then stealing. So, they move onto an easier target.

Conclusion

Be careful when public browsing. Don’t use certain websites and turn off network and file sharing as soon as you are done. Follow the standard security procedures and avoid public networks as much as possible.