Identity Theft by Wi-Fi - What You Need to Know! | Lifelock Blog

"It’s alarming how many people protect their PC with anti virus and firewalls yet have not secured their Wi-Fi. If you think you don’t need to secure your router because you have anti virus or a firewall you’re wrong. A hacker can easily bypass those systems once they‘re in. It’s kind of like having a home alarm and not turning it on.

The Middle Man Attack

ARP Poisoning or ‘middle man attacks’ are a common hack in Wi-Fi hotspots. Basically the attack involves fooling the victim’s wireless router into thinking that all information on the subnet needs to flow through the attackers PC.

The hacker then just sits back and watches the information flow through. Passwords, bank accounts, emails etc.

Wardriving in the USA

Occasionally an IT professional will write a story for a magazine on Wireless internet security flaws. Usually, the first thing they will do is turn on their wireless card, jump in their car and see how many unsecured wireless connections are running out of suburban homes.

The bad guys in this are the people documenting the locations with GPS so they can later return and hack the connection. This practice is called wardriving and is becoming big in the US."

Identity Theft by Wi-Fi - What You Need to Know! | Lifelock Blog