Eideard

You’re sitting in an airport lounge and seize the chance to check your e-mails before your flight departs. You log on and are tempted by a wireless Internet provider offering free Internet access. So, do you take it?

Security experts warn that hackers may be masquerading as free public Wi-Fi providers to gain access to the laptops of unsuspecting travelers. All it takes, they say, is a computer program downloaded from the Internet, an open access point and a user who has ignored basic security advice.

“The difficulty for travelers is differentiating between a good Internet access hotspot and a rogue, or somebody trying to actually glean credentials from you. The issue is that you don’t necessarily know the difference between a good and a bad one,” computer security expert Sean Remnant told CNN.

In 2008, AirTight Networks dispatched a number of so-called “white hat” hackers to 27 airports around the world to test the vulnerability of their Wi-Fi systems. They found that 80 percent of the private Wi-Fi networks tested were open or poorly protected.

The wireless security company also found that basic services at several airports, including baggage handling systems, were vulnerable to hackers. Operators were using Wired Equivalent Privacy, known as WEP, which was found to provide inadequate protection to hackers as early as 2001…

The original survey conducted by AirTight Networks found the most common name for rogue Wi-Fi points was “Free Public Wi-Fi…”

And it’s not just happening at airports. The rapid spread of Wi-Fi networks to cafes, hotels and even entire cities is providing hackers with more opportunities to ply their trade.

I expect the number of unsophisticated, inexperienced folks getting their first computer – taking a netbook off to school – has to provide an unlimited open season for the crooked.