According to the knowledgeable folk at PC World, almost all of us have been guilty of using another person’s unprotected Wi-Fi network at one time or another. Unfortunately, while most of us might be relatively harmless bandwidth drainers, it’s important to watch out for those with more sinister intentions. No more so is this true than in a business environment. You need protection for your business WiFi network so that your sensitive company and client data isn’t stolen and used for harmful purposes.
Worryingly, there is an abundance of accessible and easy-to-follow instructions on the internet teaching anyone – even a rival – how to access and steal your data.
You’ve probably heard of encryption, but might not know how important it is in the world of WiFi. It scrambles the data sent from a PC to a router so that it cannot be read. It’s ironic that many routers are supplied with encryption switched off, when it is one of the most vital elements in your protection toolkit. So, you always ensure that your encryption is turned on and then turn your attention to ensuring it’s at its strongest level.
WPA is Wireless Protected Access and WPA2 has now taken over from the less secure WEP Wireless Encryption Protocol. You can’t mix WPA and WEP and should, therefore, always try to use WPA or, even better, WPA2 because they are far more difficult to hack into and take over, even if that means you have to source a new WPA router. You’ll be glad of the increased safety it offers you.
In addition, you should always use a maximum security password and not the default or a simple “easy to remember” one. Things like “computer1” or “password” won’t take too long to guess! It’s best to mix symbols, alpha and numeric characters and use both upper and lower case letters, wherever possible.
VPN’s, or Virtual Private Networks, are designed to protect public wireless links. They create tunnels for your encrypted data to travel through and the facility is regularly offered to field staff too.
Firewalls sound like they are protecting your interests and to a degree they are, but they only stop hackers from accessing your computer. They can still use your unprotected wireless network, piggyback on your service and view all of your WiFi traffic. You may as well ask a crowd in the street to watch as your employees carry out their work, you’d have as much privacy. That being said, a firewall is a necessary part of the solution and they should be installed on all computers.
It is best to run individual software firewalls on your network so that each and every one of your computers is protected. Some of these firewalls can be downloaded for free, but always make sure that you check the level of protection that they offer.
Hotspots don’t use encryption so you need to ensure that any hotspot is legitimate, that the firewall is on, file sharing is off and the radio is always off when you aren’t at a hotspot. Failure to take these measures makes it extremely easy for your computer to be hacked and all of your details and sensitive data are there for the taking. You can also take advantage of hot spot protection providers that offer data encryption.
For visitors to your premises and employees wishing to use their own devices whilst at work, it’s advisable to install a separate guest WiFi network. This will make it easier to control the devices connected to your main network and offer that added level of protection where it’s needed most. Devices that have previously been connected to other networks, where you have had no control over the level of security, may pose a threat to your network so it’s not worth taking the risk.
Be pro-active about your security and make your business WiFi safe from cyber criminals and opportunists. For secure business WiFi in Birmingham and the surrounding areas, including guest WiFi services, contact us at Midland Networks today.