Lack of Security in Hotspots/Wi Fi Areas Yin Wai ISM 158 4/27/10

Hot Spot Dangers? Increased dependence on laptops, smart phones, and other portable devices Personal and professional information are exposed when an employee logs onto Wi-Fi hotspots Public access point - on someone else's network with no control of who else is using it  People who know how to look for unencrypted information can gain access to all your data  Threat of a hacker

"Ryan Crumb, director of information security for PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services, has seen all sorts of information gleaned from hot spots -- including Social Security numbers, corporate financial data and information about M&A deals -- that was never meant for him to see. Sometimes Crumb deliberately looks to see what unprotected data is traveling over the network in public spaces." PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services How easy is information attained?

What can IT do? Create and enforce strong verification policies for devices trying to access the corporate network  Require employees to use a corporate VPN (virtual private network) and encryption when making a connection and exchanging data

What can IT do? cont. Make sure all devices and software applications are configured properly and have the latest patches. Ensure that corporate security policies prevent workers from transferring sensitive data to mobile devices or unauthorized computers.  Use air cards, which require a service plan, instead of hot spots for wireless connections.

Difficulties Consumertization of IT - High demand to work from personal laptops and smart phones Not enough protection to prevent employees from ing data back to a home office through Wi-Fi hotspots Cost - Needing VPN (virtual private network)

Statistics Through a 2009 study, the average cost of a data breech was $6.75 mill 42% of data breeches were the cause of the third-party 36% of these were due to lost/stolen devices 24% were due to a criminal attack that resulted in theft of data

Statistics cont. 67% of these 45 organizations started to use training and awareness programs 58% used manual procedures and controls 58% expanded their use of encryption

Sources angers_That_Internet_cafe_could_cost_ you_way_more_than_a_cup_of_coffee_