Identity Theft by Wi-Fi - What You Need to Know!
You’ve taken on board the warnings about identity theft, you have your own personal shredder in the house as well as the office and you destroy any paperwork that includes personal information prior to tossing it in the trash.
Web-based identity theft is on the rise and Internet users should definitely invest as much effort in safeguarding their information online as they might do in the real world.
Wi-Fi Hackers and Suckers
It’s common place these days, café regulars and people living in close apartment buildings using other people’s Wi-Fi to surf the Internet for free. Rather than pay for it, it’s just as easy (perhaps easier) to search for available networks that have not been password protected by the account holders.
Stealing someone else’s Wi-Fi seems like a rather small crime really, but it’s a potential hacker’s haven. When you use someone else’s account, you have granted them access to your computer and your personal information contained. And, that could be exactly what they want you to do!
The holder of the Wi-Fi account can easily create a proxy server and use it to capture your data. They can even set up their computer to decrypt information, like bank passwords.
It’s a case of the hunter becoming the hunted. Or, the hacker becomes the sucker.
But what about the opposite, where someone new to Wi-Fi has no idea that people in close proximity can use their connection if it’s not suitably protected. Some people don’t care if others use their wireless internet.
Those that don’t care probably should, there are lots of unsavory things a person can do using your internet. Many of them are illegal. If you allow such activities your facing the blame for online fraud, or even copyright infringement if they host illegal movies using your bandwidth… which is traced back to you.
In addition, it’s a perfect way to expose yourself to identity theft. Someone piggybacking on your wireless connection can read your emails and watch your usage to build up a profile. As well, they can steal your passwords and potentially anything in a bank account that was protected by those passwords.
It’s alarming how many people protect their PC with anti virus and firewalls yet have not secured their Wi-Fi. If you think you don’t need to secure your router because you have anti virus or a firewall you’re wrong. A hacker can easily bypass those systems once they‘re in. It’s kind of like having a home alarm and not turning it on.
The Middle Man Attack
ARP Poisoning or ‘middle man attacks’ are a common hack in Wi-Fi hotspots. Basically the attack involves fooling the victim’s wireless router into thinking that all information on the subnet needs to flow through the attackers PC.
The hacker then just sits back and watches the information flow through. Passwords, bank accounts, emails etc.
Wardriving in the USA
Occasionally an IT professional will write a story for a magazine on Wireless internet security flaws. Usually, the first thing they will do is turn on their wireless card, jump in their car and see how many unsecured wireless connections are running out of suburban homes.
The bad guys in this are the people documenting the locations with GPS so they can later return and hack the connection. This practice is called wardriving and is becoming big in the US.
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