A research conducted by experts from the UK, US, Germany and France has warned about the dangers of connecting to Wi-Fi networks in cafes and coffee shop saying that they are unsecured and “high-risk.”
The report from iPass reads: “Wherever there is an unsecured public Wi-Fi network, there is the threat of attack. However, coffee shops are seen as the most dangerous public Wi-Fi venue of all.”
“Our research shows that man-in-the-middle attacks are considered to be the greatest mobile security concern of using public Wi-Fi hotpots (69 percent),”
“This is when a hacker secretly attacks the data flowing to and from the internet to the mobile device.”
With public Wi-Fi, communications between two parties can be intercepted without either of the victims realising it.
Raghu Konka, iPass vice president of engineering, said: “Cafés and coffee shops are everywhere and offer both convenience and comfort for mobile workers, who flock to these venues for the free high-speed internet as much as for the the coffee,”
“However, cafés invariably have lax security standards, meaning that anyone using these networks will be potentially vulnerable.”