Negligent WiFi Brits at serious risk of ID theft
New research by web hosting expert UK2 and YouGov has revealed that more than half of the UK’s public WiFi users are potentially putting confidential data at risk by connecting mobile devices to unsecured networks.
According to the survey, over half of all UK adults who ever use public WiFi (56%) do not check or only “rarely” check whether a public WiFi network is encrypted before use.
Public WiFi networks in places such as coffee shops, pubs, airports or hotels are often unsecured connections which can expose personal data and leave devices open to online threats such as malware, spyware and cyber-snooping. When questioned, 67% of online UK adults didn't know what is meant by the term VPN, and 68% of smartphone users did not know whether or not their device had VPN functionality.
