A recent report conducted by Symantec has found that people will connect to any public Wi-Fi as long as it’s free and has a strong signal.
They also have no qualms about what they do on that public Wi-Fi with 87% admitting to taking security risks such as accessing personal email, bank accounts or financial information.
This behaviour is putting both individuals and companies at risk of credential leaking and ultimately hacking.
Consumers’ dependency on public Wi-Fi is putting their personal information at risk. What someone thinks are private on their personal device could easily be accessed by cybercriminals via compromised apps or Wi-Fi networks. 60% feel their personal information is safe when using public Wi-Fi yet 53% can’t tell the difference between a public secure or unsecured Wi-Fi network.
“There is a deep divide between what people think is safe or private when using public Wi-Fi versus the reality,” Nick Shaw, vice president and general manager at Norton by Symantec, said in a statement.
“What someone thinks is private on their personal device can easily be accessed by hackers through unsecured Wi-Fi networks or even apps with privacy vulnerabilities.”
While smart phones and devices have given people more flexibility and convenience they have also left some businesses exposed. If an employee is connected to a compromised Wi-Fi network and is logging into different software and checking and sending emails, they could be exposing this information to hackers.
Your employees are the weakest link in your network security. The easiest way for a hacker to gain access to your system is through good old fashioned human error, because of this it’s important to train your staff on cyber security.
Continuous staff training on cyber and email security is one of the best ways to protect your business against hackers and scams.