InterAksyon.com MANILA — About a quarter of WiFi hotspots sampled around the world by security provider Kaspersky Lab has been found out to be easy pickings for hackers, posing significant risks to users’ personal data. According to a study by Kaspersky Security Network, 25% of the WiFi networks have been found out to have no encryption or password protection of any kind, meaning information transmitted — including personal messages, passwords, documents — is completely open and can be read by third parties. Kaspersky also noted that the top 20 countries with the highest percentage of non-encrypted WiFi hotspots includes many popular tourist destinations like Thailand, France, Israel, and the US, making travellers among the most vulnerable. About 3% of surveyed hotspots use WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy to encrypt data, a protocol easily susceptible using freeware tools from the Internet. A more reassuring fact, however, is that about 75% has been found out to use a more reliable form of encryption based on WiFi Protected Access protocols. “We advise all users to remain vigilant when connecting to WiFi,” said Denis Legezo, an antivirus expert from Kaspersky Lab. “Don’t use hotspots without passwords don’t use public hotspots to perform high-risk activities such as online banking or shopping, logging on to sites or for transferring confidential information.”
A majority of Hi - Fi hotspots globally have " no encryption or password protection of any kind " , according to a report by security provider Kaspersky Lab . The report listed the UK , France , Israel and Thailand among the top 20 countries with the " highest percentage " of unencrypted hotspots . To ensure the safety of sensitive information , users were advised not to perform " high risk " activities such as driving and shopping while logged on at sites that did not require passwords .