Is your Financial Information Leaked while Using a Public Wifi

Is your financial information compromised while using public Wi-Fi? Read one and find out.

17:59 09 February 2022

Public Wi-Fi is a huge convenience for people who work remotely, travel often, or check social media and email quickly. In the past, using public Wi-Fi was known to be a high-priority risk on financial informations. But the question is; is my financial informations compromised while using a public Wi-Fi?? 

 

Depending on the type of Wi-Fi you are using, we have secured and unsecured Wi-Fi. Secure Wi-Fi is the type of Wi-Fi available at airports, hotels, universities, e.t.c. This type of Wi-Fi requires you to create an account, type a password and sign in to access the internet. 

 

On the other hand, the unsecured Wi-Fi is the type you connect to by checking off a terms and conditions agreement or even none. If you have ever connected to this type of Wi-Fi, then that's a red flag you are using an unsecured Wi-Fi. 

 

The dangers of using public Wi-Fi have been resolved before, as most websites use HTTPS. With HTTPS, any data sent to websites encrypts into meaningless strings of letters and numbers that eavesdroppers cannot decode. Earlier, that was not the case, as a hacker can steal your information, inject their content on the websites you visit if you surf on a non-secure HTTP website.

 

By 2016, half of the websites have moved to HTTPS, and by 2020, 90% of websites run on HTTPS. In the modern world, web browsers like Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and the likes show a padlock button at the top of the URL page to show if a website is secured. Chrome browser especially comes up with a red flag page indicating that the unsecured webpage you want to access has malicious content and would deny you access to the website except you oblige manually. 

 

What happens to my financial information when I use an unsecured Wi-Fi? 

In as much HTTPS is a new technology to combat hackers from stealing your financial informations, hackers are always looking for a new way to steal your information.

 

Browsing HTTPS websites is not enough layer to protect your online activities. You can connect to a malicious hotspot. A hotspot is simply a location where people can access the internet. E.g Hotels, airport e.t.c 

A hacker can set up a similar hotspot that looks legitimately; for instance, "AZ HOTEL WI-FI" a hacker can rename it "A-Z HOTEL Wi-Fi to trick you into connecting and stealing your financial informations.

Even if you connect to a legitimate website (HTTPS) secured, hackers can still gain access to your informations through your browsing sessions. That's because the domain name system DNS is not always encrypted, and they can see the website you visit like XYZ.com but could not see specific pages or the information you enter there. 

Having your browsing habits, e.g., your internet banking URL, can easily make them set up a phishing masked website links that look so similar to your legitimate internet banking website, and once you fall for it; Boom your financial information’s is recorded.

How do I protect my financial information while on public Wi-Fi? 

Virtual Private Network(VPN)

One of the best ways to protect your Financial information’s while on public Wi-Fi is to use a VPN. A virtual private network creates a secure connection between your device and the internet using an encrypted connection to the VPN server. It masks your online activities from malicious content by encrypting your data. So the next time you are connected to a non-secured public Wi-Fi, use a good VPN to secure your browsing sessions.

See how you can fix your windows wi-fi disconnecting.

HTTP/HTTPS

As we have explained HTTP/HTTPS in the previous paragraphs, Next time you want to use a public unsecured Wi-Fi, check the website you are trying to access if it has HTTPS. If not, don't put in sensitive information on such websites. 

Meanwhile, mobile apps cannot show if a website is secured or not. Hence, do not use the mobile app on public Wi-Fi, especially when it is tempting to make bank transfers and mobile top-ups from the mobile app.

Use 2FA Authentication

The best way to create a problem for hackers is to activate 2FA authentication on your financial website profiles. 2FA lets you get a code texted to you after logging in successfully to your financial website. It adds another extra layer from hijacking your information as hackers need to get the second verification code if they have your financial informations compromised.

Use cellular network

If you have a better alternative to public Wi-Fi, then why use it in the first place? You know the risk associated with using public Wi-Fi. It is advisable to get rid of it and use a mobile cellular network to access your internet activities.