UAE residents are being cautioned about the risks of connecting to public Wi-Fi networks following a series of hacking incidents.
Among those affected was a Dubai resident, known as J, who suffered a breach of his accounts after using a hotel’s public Wi-Fi. According to Khaleej Times report, the hackers demanded a ransom in bitcoin to release his TikTok account, which had over 10,000 followers. When J refused, they deleted his account.
Such incidents are not isolated to the UAE. Earlier this year, a US company faced bankruptcy within months after a vulnerability in their public Wi-Fi was exploited, resulting in the theft of millions of dollars. The breach occurred when a worker, renovating the company’s aquarium, connected to their network.
Dr. Mohammed Hamad Al Kuwaiti, the UAE government’s head of cybersecurity, emphasized the risks during a conference in March. Following these events, experts are urging the public to exercise caution when using public networks.
Joseph Carson, of Delinea, stated, “One of the biggest threats is the lack of security controls on many public Wi-Fi networks.” He added that while incidents are infrequent, the implications can be devastating, ranging from identity theft to financial fraud. Paul Baird of Qualys also warned of rogue Wi-Fi connections set up by malicious entities to deceive and exploit users.
To protect against such threats, Carson advises not to access sensitive data or change passwords on public networks. Additionally, users should disconnect from public Wi-Fi once finished and disable automatic joining of known networks. Baird recommends using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) for a secure connection and ensuring firewalls are enabled and optimally configured on devices to prevent unauthorized access.
