Airports - a threat to identity security

We all love the convenience of Wi-Fi to stay connected anywhere our laptops take us. In fact, you may be reading this article on your wireless-enabled laptop now. But just as the availability of Wi-Fi services proliferate, so does the number of hackers ready to take advantage of unsuspecting road warriors.

Now, in addition to long check-in and security lines, the uninformed have one more thing to be anxious about at the airport - identity thieves.

Research shows that free wireless public networks located in airports and other public places are ripe for exploitation by hackers. Launch a freely available network stumbler and you will quickly see far more advertised Wi-Fi spots than are sanctioned by the airport and its tenants—these are typically consumers' computers attempting to connect.

The ability to set up fake "free" Wi-Fi hotspots in public places and potentially use them to steal sensitive data, such as online banking passwords or personal information, is alarmingly easy to do. In fact, hacker websites provide instructions on how such frauds can be accomplished.

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