Over the years, travelers have been repeatedly warned to avoid using public Wi-Fi in places like airports and coffee shops. In particular, airport Wi-Fi is known as a hacker’s treasure trove, because security is often relatively lax. But even though many people know they should stay away from free Wi-Fi, it’s proving irresistible to tourists as well as to hackers, who are now updating a tactic old cyber criminals to take advantage of.
ONE Arrested in Australia this past summer raised alarm bells in the United States that cybercriminals were finding new ways to profit from so-called “evil twin” attacks. Also classified in a category of cybercrime known as “Man in the Middle” attacks, evil twins occurs when a hacker or hacking group sets up a fake Wi-Fi network, usually in public settings where many users may be connected.
In this case, an Australian man was charged with carrying out a Wi-Fi attack on domestic flights and airports in Perth, Melbourne and Adelaide. He allegedly set up a fake Wi-Fi network to steal emails or social media login information.
“As the general population becomes more accustomed to free Wi-Fi everywhere, you can Expect evil twin attacks to become more common.” terms and conditions or check the URL on free Wi-Fi.
“It’s almost a game to see how quickly you can click ‘accept’ then ‘log in’ or ‘connect’. This is a ploy, especially when visiting a new place ; users may not even know what a legitimate website looks like when encountering a fake website,” Radolec said.
The ‘evil twins’ can hide more easily these days
One of the dangers of today’s twinning attacks is that the technology is much easier to disguise. An evil twin can be a tiny device that can be hidden behind a screen in a coffee shop, and that small device can have a significant impact.
“A device like this could provide an attractive replica of a valid login page, which could invite unwary device users,” said Brian Alcorn, a Cincinnati-based IT consultant. enter their username and password, which will then be collected for future mining.”
The site doesn’t even require you to actually log in. “Once you’ve entered your information, the job is done,” Alcorn says, adding that a tired, harried traveler will probably think the airport Wi-Fi is having problems and not think twice. thereto.
People who aren’t careful with their passwords, such as using their pet’s name or favorite sports team as their password for everything, are even more vulnerable to evil twin attacks. Alcorn said for individuals who reuse username and password combinations online, once the credentials are obtained, they can be fed into AI, where its power can quickly provide giving cybercriminals the key.
“It’s very easy to be taken advantage of by someone who has less than $500 worth of equipment and has less skill than you think,” Alcorn says. “The attacker only needs to be motivated with basic IT skills.”
How to avoid becoming a victim of this cybercrime
When in public places, experts say it’s best to use alternatives to public WiFi networks.
“My favorite way to avoid evil twin attacks is to use your phone’s mobile hotspot if possible,” said Brian Callahan, Director of the Rensselaer Cybersecurity Collaboration at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. .
Users will be able to detect an attack if a phone relies on its mobile data and shares it via a mobile hotspot.
“You will know the name of that network since you created it, and you can put a strong password that only you know on it to connect,” Callahan says.
If a hotspot isn’t an option, a VPN can also provide some protection, Callahan said. Traffic must be encrypted to and from the VPN.
“So even if other people can see the data, they can’t do anything,” he said.
Airport and airline internet security issues
At many airports, responsibility for WiFi is outsourced, and the airport itself has little involvement in securing it. For example, at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Boingo is the Wi-Fi provider.
“The airport’s IT team does not have access to their systems, nor can we view usage and dashboards,” said a For airport spokesperson. “This network is separate from DAL’s systems as it is a separate, independent system with no direct connection to any internal City of Dallas network or system.”
A spokesperson for Boingo, which provides services to about 60 airports in North America, said it can identify rogue Wi-Fi access points through its network management. “The best way passengers can stay protected is with Passpoint, which uses encryption to automatically connect users to authenticated Wi-Fi for a secure online experience,” she said. Eliminates the risk of connecting to malicious access points.
Alcorn said evil twin attacks “definitely” happen regularly in the United States, it’s rare for someone to be caught because they are such sneaky attacks. And sometimes hackers use these attacks as a learning model. “Many evil twin attacks can be tested by individuals with beginner to intermediate skills just to see if they can pull it off and get away with it, even if They do not use the information collected immediately.”
The surprise in Australia was not the vicious twin attack but the arrest.
“This incident is not unique, but what is unusual is that the suspect was arrested,” said Aaron Walton, a threat analyst at Expel, a managed services security company. “In general, airlines are not equipped and prepared to handle or mediate hacking allegations. The typical lack of arrests and punitive actions should motivate travelers to be cautious with their data.” themselves, knowing it is an attractive and often unprotected target – especially at airports.”
In the Australian case, according to the Australian Federal Police, dozens of people had their login information stolen.
According to a press release from AFP, “When people tried to connect their devices to the free WiFi network, they were taken to a fake website asking them to log in with their email or social media credentials. Those details were then allegedly saved to the man’s device.”
Once those credentials are collected, they can be used to get more information from the victim, including bank account information.
For hackers to succeed, they don’t need to deceive everyone. If they can convince just a handful of people – statistically easy to do when thousands of hurried and hasty people are moving around the airport – then they will succeed.
“We expect Wi-Fi to be everywhere. When you go to hotels, airports, coffee shops, or even just walking around, we expect there to be Wi-Fi, and there often is Wi-Fi free of charge.” Callahan said. “After all, what other network name is on a long list when you’re at the airport? Attackers don’t need everyone to connect to their evil twin, just a few people to keep giving away login credentials to websites that could be stolen.” .”
Next time you’re at the airport, the only way to be 100% sure you’re safe is to bring your own Wi-Fi.
