With the recent publications trying to publically denounce the safety of Wi-Fi hotspots, many travelers and business people aren’t actually taking a great deal of notice.

After all, when was the last time the cafe had a notice announcing that the information you transmit may be visible to others?  The truth is, while people are now smarting up to the dangers of using unsecured private networks, they are still placing large amounts of trust in the highly dangerous public Wi-Fi networks.

People are constantly under the assumption that because many of these networks are a ‘paid’ service, that they are secure.  But look at the basic facts.  It is a shared medium.  Airports, coffee shops and shopping malls are rapidly becoming major sources of targets for cyber criminals who only need to sit outside with a laptop and a network card.

However, whilst it is always recommended that sensitive data is never exposed to a non-trusted network, the advent of encryption and virtual private networks now means that companies can afford themselves an extra layer of security.

But, virtual private networks do not mitigate against one of the biggest threats faced by business travelers and individuals – the risk of complete hardware theft or loss, which can cost organizations in excess of $20,000 per system, compared to the relatively small expense of integrating file and disk encryption into their security policies.

These days, many WI-FI networks are being monitored by hackers.  Perhaps the person sitting next to you at the airport is secretly recording every byte you transmit?  Maybe they are going to steal your thumb-drive the next time you are not looking?

The idea that people can live without encryption these days is absurd.  The risks associated such as cyber snooping, and the theft of high value information is great in an age where we are reliant on wireless communications and portable computers.