Leeds in the U.K. is considered to have the best city center-supported Wi-Fi in the United Kingdom, as free Wi-Fi has been offered to users in Millennium Square and Briggate. The popularity is evident, so much so, that 18,000 users have registered to access the free Wi-Fi. In the past nine months, more than 58,000 Internet sessions logged in through the free service.
The success in the city centers is sparking hope that it will spread to free Wi-Fi in all libraries, galleries, museums, and visitor centers. While all of this may sound great, a serious question needs to be addressed … are users safe from being hacked? In several cases, the answer is absolutely not.
With popularity comes users. It also means that there are potentially multitudes of victims just waiting to have their computers hacked. According to a new survey from Experian Consumer Services, more than half the people in Great Britain have no idea as to whether or not their connection from a free mobile Wi-Fi hotspot is secure or open to anyone who wants to use it. The Yorkshire Evening Post reports that one out of ten of the respondents had used public Wi-Fi to conduct online banking. Close to two-thirds of respondents had used public Wi-Fi to check their e-mails. This disregard for safety leaves many people vulnerable to identity theft.
A spokesperson from Experian noted that, while having mobile lives can be a great thing, it makes it necessary for us to be more aware of when we are safe online and when we are not. He compared accessing private information through public Wi-Fi to talking about a personal matter where people could overhear you, telling the Yorkshire Evening Post, “You would not openly discuss something personal or private if you thought people were listening, so don’t do it with your laptop, tablet or smartphone.”
Edited by Rory J. Thompson