Vacationers are putting themselves in grave danger by using unprotected Wi-Fi networks when traveling

Vacationers are putting themselves in grave danger by using unprotected Wi-Fi networks when traveling

Three quarters of holiday goers use unprotected Wi-Fi, according to research conducted by ProPrivacy

Liverpool, June 14, 2019 – Using insecure public hotspots can pose significant threats to users, yet new research conducted by leading privacy advocate, ProPrivacy, found that 75% of US vacationers use unprotected Wi-Fi on a regular basis.

ProPrivacy surveyed 1,051 vacationers to get an understanding of their Internet usage habits when traveling and found that 96% of respondents connected to public Wi-Fi in hotels and cafes. 

A staggering 75.8% of respondents admitted to connect to networks which do not even ask for a password. These are open networks, meaning a hacker could easily intercept and read unencrypted traffic. 

Only 22.6% of those surveyed said they knew that technologies such as virtual private networks (VPNs) would provide protection against such attacks.

“Hackers are growing increasingly sophisticated in their methods,” commented Sean McGrath, Managing Editor at ProPrivacy. “Public hotspots are an easy target for them. They can simply sniff for unencrypted traffic or potentially hack the router and carry out a DNS attack, sending you to pages that look legitimate, but are in fact under their control. They can even duplicate the entire network so they can see everything you do.”

McGrath continued: “VPNs remain the only surefire way to protect your online activity when using public hotspots. Vacationers would be well advised to download a VPN before traveling.”

About ProPrivacy:

ProPrivacy is the leading resource for digital freedom. Founded in 2013, the site’s mission is to help users around the world reclaim their right to privacy through research, reviews, knowledge-sharing, investigations and direct action. F

Media Contact:

Sean McGrath
[email protected]