Who has your data?

In December, millions of O2 customers were left without mobile data, and as a result they seemingly disappeared from 21^st century existence.

Well, not quite.

On 6^th December, O2 announced one of their third-party suppliers had identified a global software issue in their system, which had a significant impact on users everywhere.

The desperation that ensued was unprecedented, with O2 customers taking drastic steps to navigate the void. Early reports suggested the epidemic triggered the return of eye contact – a primitive custom, disconcerting for modern man – whilst other O2 customers resorted to verbal conversations. Some unverified reports even suggested the world tilted on its axis slightly, due to the lack of Instagram users…

Fortunately, however, most users were still able to access Wi-Fi, and appropriately took to social media to share their ironic stories from the other (data-free) side.

But in amongst the crisis, there was an important message to be heard about the use of public Wi-Fi.

It’s easy to assume that all Wi-Fi networks are harmless – we don’t think twice about logging into the free Wi-Fi in our favourite coffee shop – however, with fraud and cybercrime becoming the UK’s most common offences and criminals becoming more sophisticated in their methods, you may be more vulnerable than you realise.

Public Wi-Fi can be a fantastic solution for getting online whilst you’re out and about without data. However, these networks are often not secure, posing a significant risk to users and their sensitive data.

What are the dangers?

How would you feel knowing a criminal is looking at all of the information on your phone or device? We’re talking bank details, credit/debit card information, passport details, passwords, photos…

Well, data sent via public Wi-Fi can be easily intercepted, meaning criminals can capture, save and use any of your valuable personal information. And what’s worse? No device is exempt – whether you are connecting to a public Wi-Fi via smartphone, laptop or tablet, anything and everything can be at risk

As a result, it is more important than ever that you and your business have secure Wi-Fi connections.

What do we recommend?

Providing your customers with access to guest Wi-Fi brings many benefits, but also considerable risk, which is why a secure network is imperative. By implementing a secure guest Wi-Fi, you can be confident you and your customers are protected when connected to your network, giving you the ability to block cyber-attacks, protect against phishing attacks, control accessibility and mitigating the risk of security breach.

Here at Infuse, our team of experts can help identify any vulnerabilities in your systems and implement the necessary solutions.

We’ve been around for over 15 years providing Midlands based businesses with expert IT advice, support and consultancy.

To learn more, get in touch today.