Top 4 Biggest Wi-Fi Security Risks, Threats, Vulnerabilities

Most public places offer free Wi-Fi facilities to their customers. Coffee shops, hotels, spas, and many other public places include the provision of free Wi-Fi. 

Most users working on public Wi-Fi have a lot of essential and probably confidential information on their devices. The loss of this information can cause some serious harm if a hacker gets ahold of it. 

But unfortunately, the majority of public Wi-Fi users don't realize the possible Wi-Fi security risks and threats. 

To access the internet safely and securely through wireless technologies in public spaces, here’s a list of a few possible dangers of public WiFi connections- 

1. Theft of confidential information

A major risk of connection with a vulnerable Wi-Fi connection arises from indulging in services that need to fill in login data.  

Data transferred over an insecure Wi-Fi connection can be intercepted by third parties. These third parties can extract the login information & credentials, and use them for fraudulent practices. 

Information sent via messages, emails, and other sensitive corporate information can also be intercepted and put to illegal use.

2. Man-in-the-Middle attacks

One of the most common Wi-Fi threats is called a Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack. It is performed by hackers in the form of eavesdropping. When a system is connected to the Internet, the data is sent from the computer) to the service or the website which can allow an attacker to get in between and conduct malicious activities.

3. Cyberattacks

The corporate workforce or other people who work remotely may need a connection to public Wi-Fi to check their emails, download files and review customers' information. 

Most businesses have their default security trackers, but there are still risks with using a public Wi-Fi connection. 

4. Unencrypted connectivity

Encryption is the process that involves sending the information from the computer to the wireless router in the form of an indecipherable language so that it cannot be understood by any layperson. 

Using public Wi-Fi connectivity can hamper the encrypted procedures and pose a serious threat to the information stored on the device.