14 DAY TRIAL // A recent survey conducted by security vendor Sophos revealed that 50 percent of the respondents are accessing the web at no cost by stealing the connectivity from other networks. Usually, this can be easily done through the Wi-Fi networks which are often unprotected, allowing any attacker to access and obtain a free Internet connection. But what happens after the hackers gain access to my network and are free to browse the web using my connection?
Well, besides a pretty serious bandwidth usage, some of the attackers might conduct other malicious activities on the web because they are protected by your network details. In case something unexpected happens and the authorities would attempt to arrest him, the IP address would lead them to you, the owner of the network. Does it sound like a nightmare to have the cops after you in the middle of the night? If yes, protect your Wi-Fi network with a powerful encryption technology.
Billy McCourt of SophosLabs UK said: "One of the reasons you would want to have several computers under your control is that it would make tracing you harder if you decided to try and break into NASA's site or wherever. The Wi-Fi hacker simply has to use your network, launch the same attack and not care about going via several machines. It will be the ISP's subscriber that will get a knock on the door when the FBI investigate."
At this time, the attacks targeting Wi-Fi networks are not that popular but this is not a matter that you should ignore because once your unencrypted Internet connection is detected, you become vulnerable to all kinds of malicious activities conducted through the web. "To be fair, you would probably have to be pretty unlucky to have a hacker steal your Wi-Fi and start attacking someone who cared enough to prosecute, but just because it is unlikely doesn't mean you should ignore it," the Sophos expert concluded.