Security scare for business laptops

Business travellers are unwittingly making company secrets available to rivals by ignoring the risks of local wireless networks, known as wi-fi hotspots, security experts warn.

 

IT security experts who have carried out checks at hotels, railway stations and other public places equipped with wireless internet access technology have found the networks and users' computers are often insecure. "It's actually happening: there is competitive intelligence being gathered," said Richard Hollis, chief executive of Orthus, a security firm.

 

Hackers - who need little specialist knowledge - can access contents of a rival's laptop because other users' files are visible to anybody using an unsecured wireless network. Hackers are also using wi-fi hotspots to store their files on other computers.

 

"I'm walking into corporations and commercial hotspots that are finding things on their networks that they didn't put there and it's scaring the hell out of them. What if someone used such a network to store paedophile images or to attack a bank? The company would be liable," said Mr Hollis.

 

Nevertheless, wi-fi is an "incredibly securable technology", Mr Hollis insists. Users need only disable file-sharing on their laptops and install a firewall to prevent them being hijacked.

 

In the UK the Institute of Directors, which provides free wi-fi access to members from different companies using its premises, says it has not suffered any major incidents but is "aware of the major security issues."

 

Broadreach Networks, which provides wi-fi hotspots, says its equipment has firewalls that prevent hackers seeing any other machines connected to the hotspot.

 

But Magnus McEwen-King, chief executive, said: "Not all networks have done this to prevent hackers getting access."