Hackers lurk through holes in hot spots
Wireless networks aren't just popular with computer users on the go. Hackers are finding them an easy target to snoop on consumers' laptop PCs and, eventually, their employers' networks.
Digital intruders are piercing defenseless air space at corporations, public Wi-Fi hot spots and homes to gain illegal entry to computers. About 90% of mobile devices lack protection, says market researcher Gartner.
"All the money you've spent to protect your corporate network is moot if someone hacks your laptop at a wireless access point," says Joshua Wright, deputy director of training at computer-security firm SANS Institute.
The growing popularity of public Wi-Fi hot spots — up to 30 million people will use them this year, vs. 9.3 million last year, says Gartner — is vexing for companies that want to take advantage of mobile technology without being burned by hackers and viruses. More than half of work-related laptops will have wireless capability by the end of the year, Gartner says.
Wi-Fi, or wireless Internet, sends Web pages via radio waves. Hot spots are an area within range of a Wi-Fi antenna.
