Norton warns of data theft on public wi-fi

Using free wi-fi at an airport could result in data theft. Public wi-fi zones can be vulnerable to cyber attacks, owing to bad usage habits, says a study by security software firm Norton by Symantec.

As much as 70% of the 20,900 users globally, reached through an online survey, say they use public wi-fi for checking e-mail, logging into social media accounts or sharing files. 

Globally, there are estimated 47 million public wi-fi hotspots. India has nearly 31,000.  

Of the public wi-fi users, 80% of business travellers said they used mail and social media accounts. Three of every five public wi-fi users say entering financial information there can be risky. Ritesh Chopra, country manager, Norton, said the best ways to thwart such threats could be using one-time passwords), virtual keypads on mobile screens or a virtual private network, usually an encrypted one.  

Ideally, use public wi-fi for only activities like reading of news or blogs, Chopra added.  

About 22% of home wi-fi users, of the people surveyed, said they'd used their neighbours’ without permission.

Interestingly, some of the victims of cyber crimes or unprotected networks are not concerned about security. The survey also says millenials (a term for those born between 1982 and 2004) don't seem to care about online security. They remain the most common victims of cyber crime, with 55% having experienced it in the past year.

Some of the users are still willing to click on unknown links or open malicious attachments. 

One of three users cannot detect a phishing attack, the survey finds.