Darius Povilaitis, Telia’s Head of Technical Security, says that people usually worry about the safety of their documents and luggage when travelling, even though they can suffer much greater losses if they don’t protect their data.
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“While waiting for a flight, you want to quickly connect to free internet, but not all public Wi-Fi networks are as secure as they seem. Hackers can create very convincing fake networks or exploit insufficiently secured connections to intercept transmitted data. Sometimes, just a few minutes are enough to steal login credentials or other sensitive information,” says D. Povilaitis.
According to him, one of the relevant digital risks when travelling is fake public Wi-Fi networks. Hackers can create almost identically named wireless internet hotspots, so users don’t even notice they’ve connected to a network controlled by criminals.
Last year, Australian law enforcement reported a case where fake free Wi-Fi networks were created in airports and on domestic flights, mimicking legitimate access points. Passengers who connected to them were redirected to fraudulent login pages that requested email or social media login credentials.
Such a scheme is also known as an “evil twin” attack: criminals create a network whose name is very similar to the official Wi-Fi name of an airport, hotel, or cafe. A connected user may be redirected to a fake page requesting login credentials or other sensitive information.
“If you see several similarly named Wi-Fi networks in an airport, hotel, cafe, or other public place, or if the login page asks for more information than is needed to provide internet access, it’s worth stopping and assessing the situation. A public wireless network should not ask for email, social media, or bank account passwords. If you have even the slightest doubt, it’s safest to confirm the official network name with local staff or use a VPN connection, which helps encrypt your internet connection when connected to a public network,” says D. Povilaitis.
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Vigilance Alone Is No Longer Enough
Although specialists recommend not connecting to online banking on public networks, disabling automatic Wi-Fi connection, and constantly updating device software, today, according to D. Povilaitis, caution alone is no longer enough.
“Travellers cannot constantly think about whether a specific wireless network is secure. Therefore, it is important to have additional security measures that help reduce the risk of user error and make using public networks safer. One of the most important measures is a VPN connection, which helps encrypt the internet connection and makes data interception more difficult when connected to a public network,” explains the expert.
Danger Can Also Lurk in Charging Stations
The expert reminds that in airports, it’s worth being cautious not only with public wireless internet networks. Security agencies also draw attention to potential risks associated with shared USB charging stations.
“Not only electrical energy but also data is transmitted via a USB connection, so theoretically, a modified or compromised public USB port could be used to install malicious software or read data from a device. Although this is more of a preventive risk than a frequently publicly recorded incident scenario, it is safer to use your own charger, power outlet, or a special data blocker when travelling,” advises D. Povilaitis.
If you have to use a public USB port and your device offers such an option, it’s worth choosing the “charge only” mode (Eng. charge only), which restricts data transfer via the USB connection. When travelling, it’s safer to use your own charger and cable. USB cables and adapters of unknown origin or left in public places can theoretically pose data security or technical safety risks, so it’s best to avoid them.
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