We use public Wifi quite a bit at tech conferences and other events, and had our email hacked at one a few years ago. Now we take precautions. But Wifi connections on airplanes may provide an even greater danger, says NordVPN .
Virtual Priavate Netowrk (VPN) services encryupt traffic flow between the Internet and a device, and also hide its IP address.
Regarding airplane Wifi, NordVPN warns that first, there’s no password protection on the Wi-Fi connection, so anyone can intercept all data that¹s being transmitted on the wireless network.
Thus, while it¹s great to go online while you are in the sky, connecting to Gogo or other provider might mean you are giving your private data away to cybercriminals. Airplanes, NordVPN says, are unique hacking grounds more dangerous than airports or coffee shops, as they cram passengers in one small space for hours. This gives plenty of time and opportunity for hackers to access all data that¹s being transmitted over open networks. Passengers who do online banking, shopping or business emailing are especially vulnerable to identity and data theft.
Hacking devices, such as WiFi Pineapple, are accessible to anyone and are particularly dangerous on flights. The Pineapple, which is small enough to be stored in someone¹s carry on, pretends to be a Wi-Fi connection so when a user connects to Wi-Fi, they are actually connecting to a hacking device.
Nord recommends setting a device to the public setting, making sure you connect to the plane’s Wifi service and not a look alike, and of course, to use a VPN.and up-to-date anitivirus, firewall and anti-spyware as well.
