There are various practices pertaining to WiFi security. Not all qualify as best practices as some are more useful than others. In this article, we’ll discuss them.
But before we dive into this discussion, we need to segregate between security practices for indoor WiFi and outdoor WiFi. Why this segregation is essential? Because you can keep your indoor WiFi network more secure than an outdoor network. The latter can be compromised easily. Hence, you need to know all the best practices related to WiFi security.
The key difference between indoor and outdoor WiFi is the location of the WiFi hotspot. If the hotspot is located inside your house, then it’s an indoor WiFi network. Indoor WiFi hotspots are
Indoor WiFi security
To get an idea of the security measures for indoor WiFi, you first need to understand the risks. Unless encrypted, a WiFi network is always unprotected. If someone is near you, then he can seamlessly connect to your network. The biggest risks for an unprotected indoor network is someone capturing the passwords or hijacking an account. Next, he’d not only share your bandwidth but also access your information.
Securing a WiFi network is easy for the end users, but it’s difficult for business users. An ordinary user can rely on his ISP to encrypt his WiFi network. But for a small business that relies on WiFi connectivity to run its operations, securing the network is a must, and he needs to adopt sturdy protection measures. Having said that, an ISP may offer an outdated encryption, so we strongly recommend home users to consult with their network providers and make sure the encryption enabled is updated.
Outdoor WiFi security
Outdoor WiFi networks are not secure because the hotspot are located in public places. Some of those public places are hotels, airports, coffee shops, etc. Such networks are highly unprotected. Unlike indoor WiFi, an eavesdropper doesn’t have to connect to those hotspots as they don’t have multiple layers of security.
Types of threat
The biggest threat to a public WiFi hotspot is the lack of authentication. A hacker only needs a USB device and a password to hack a public WiFi hotspot. The device needs to be connected to the computer that the hacker is using. Next, the hacker needs the help of a software. The software features a fake network name that assures users that they are logging into a secured network. As users sign in, the software receives their information, stored in their social accounts.
Another trick, employed by the malicious software is appearing as a trusted network. WiFi enabled devices can easily recognize a network that they have connected to in the past. The software takes advantage of that. It gathers information on which networks the devices have previously connected to and appear as those networks.
Useful solutions
If reports from private organizations are to be believed, then more than 822 million digital records were exposed to cyber threats in 2013. The number must have skyrocketed by now. Almost everything that is related to a WiFi network can be compromised, hence if you are connecting to a public WiFi network, it’s essential for you to hide personal information such as date of birth, credit card numbers, phone number, social security number, email address, social media login details, etc.
One surefire way to keep the WiFi network safe is using a static IP address. But it lowers the security as static IP addresses are easy to obtain. The DHCP pool of the network may function as the trojan horse, so turn it off on your router and set a fixed IP address range. Next configure the devices that you want to connect to your WiFi. Your best bet is use a private IP.
Business WiFi security
Securing a connection that is used for running business operations is much more difficult. A small business owner can opt for better WPA2 enterprise security. All you need is a RADIUS server and 802.1X authentication. Setting up a RADIUS server requires some degrees of technical expertise, if you lack it, then look out for a hosted service that comes with built-in RADIUS server. After setting up the RADIUS server, you need to input separate passwords for each router and username and passwords. This will amount to a better security for your classified business information.
Hackers and eavesdroppers are getting smarter everyday. To deal with them, you need to install effectual security measures. Be it your home network or business network, follow the best WiFi practices and stay secure.