7 Tips to Safeguard Public WiFi Use
 

Human error is one of the leading barriers to effective cybersecurity. Casual security mistakes can lead to career-threatening results. Putting the right technology in place to improve your cybersecurity is important; however, an educated workforce that’s aware of the threats and knows how to prevent them is the last piece of the puzzle.

You can teach employees what they need to know to keep your organization secure, and we’re here to help.

As part of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, we’re bringing you a weekly series on common threats to strengthen your cyber resilience strategy.

This week, we’re tackling the issue of how to avoid security issues when using public WiFi. You can learn about other similar threats by downloading our cybersecurity awareness training kit.

The security risks of public WiFi

Open, unsecured public WiFi networks can be risky. Criminals can set up routers to provide WiFi service in public places. Once you connect, they can intercept, capture, and divert all your communications.

That means criminals can access everything from your logins and company email file attachments to the credit card information you enter on e-commerce sites.

How to stay safe on public WiFi

• Use public WiFi networks that require a password.

• Pay attention to warnings that you’re connecting to a network that hasn’t been secured.

• Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) wherever possible, and always use the company’s VPN to connect remotely to company resources.

• If you’re on a public WiFi network, limit your browsing to sites that use encryption (sites with names starting with HTTPS instead of HTTP).

• Avoid logging into websites where there’s a chance that cybercriminals could capture your identity, passwords or personal information — such as social networking sites, online banking services, or websites that store your credit card information.

• If relaying sensitive information, consider using your mobile device’s data network instead of WiFi.

• Make sure your device has the most current updates and patches.

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