AnchorFree a software security company and PhoCusWright a travel research firm conducted a study of 2,203 American travelers that have taken at least one leisure trip of 75 miles or more in the last year. And as you could guess, the statistics were alarming to people who have a security background. I've seemed to complain a lot on this blog so let's start out with something positive:
4 out of 5 people surveyed felt their personal information was not safe when using a public Wi-Fi network. So there's that.
But according to the study 84% of of people do not take action to ensure their data is secure. I attribute this to probably not knowing how to protect your data. The most visited sites for these travelers were banking websites, or commerce websites where they have to put in account data, such as credit cards. So people do not feel safe, but they still enter personal information into these sites while using public networks.
One other positive is 54% of respondents say they stay away from using personal information when using these public networks. YAY!
I'll admit I used to try to use and open Wi-Fi network when I was in an airport. But I was also, 13. Truth be told, I stopped because the Wi-Fi in airports were so terrible, I could never connect to them. I almost blame the airport for peoples actions. If they see the airport's Wi-Fi is free and can't get on, they might just go and try to join the next network available thinking it can do no harm. Maybe the airports should offer secure Wi-Fi that is built into ticket prices. You could receive your authentication when you check in. I could be your account number or something. I know that some offer a secure network once you a re sitting down waiting for your plane, but nobody wants to go through the hassle to join it when your device picks up other free networks. It could make more money for the airport, and keep peoples information more secure.
Here's the full article: http://www.scmagazine.com//study-majority-of-us-travelers-dont-take-precautions-when-using-public-wi-fi/article/322956/
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