According to the survey, over half of all UK adults who ever use public WiFi (56%) do not check or only “rarely” check whether a public WiFi network is encrypted before use.
Public WiFi networks in places such as coffee shops, pubs, airports or hotels are often unsecured connections which can expose personal data and leave devices open to online threats such as malware, spyware and cyber-snooping.
When questioned, 67% of online UK adults didn’t know what is meant by the term VPN, and 68% of smartphone users did not know whether or not their device had VPN functionality.
An interesting discrepancy to emerge from the research is that, despite the apparent lack of precautions taken in public, 86% of online adults who ever access WiFi at home take measures to ensure that their WiFi is secure.
“The results of our research on public WiFi usage suggest that users prioritise convenience over taking sensible security precautions,” said Russell Foster, managing director of VPNHQ.
“The amount of personal data transmitted from mobile devices is growing, making them increasingly attractive targets for cyber criminals. Using a VPN is a simple, cost-effective and unobtrusive solution which exploits technology already native on almost every Internet-enabled device on Earth to provide security and peace of mind when using any wireless network.”
UK2’s own research further indicates that British consumers are potentially risking over GB pound 2 billion by accessing online banking via unsecure public WiFi networks. In addition, a combined total of approximately GB pound 2,095,000,000 is at risk of theft from British consumers’ bank accounts through phishing and other cyber attacks enabled by unsecure public WiFi.
Concern over viruses, phishing or pharming
The research also shows that many consumers are in fact aware of the risks presented by public WiFi networks.
According to the results, 46% of all online UK adults surveyed are concerned about viruses, 41% admitted to worries about phishing or pharming and 40% are anxious about the threat of cyber-snooping or hacking while using mobile devices.
Despite these concerns, 22% of UK WiFi users have entered their e-mail password when using public WiFi, 21% have logged into their Facebook account and 8% have sent their online banking password.
15% of those questioned had entered credit or debit card details to make purchases over public WiFi. Without a secure VPN tunnel, this information is freely available to any hackers who might be snooping on a public WiFi network.
Some selected statistics from the research read as follows:
- 45% of UK WiFi users could be putting their passwords and data at risk by using public WiFi to log-in to email, 37% access Facebook and 14% even log-in to online banking
- 15% of the UK’s public WiFi users have entered credit or debit card details over a public WiFi network
- 40% of all online UK adults worry about cyber-snooping
- 42% of all online UK adults who ever use public WiFi never or only “rarely” check whether or not a WiFi network is secure before use
- 86% of all online UK adults who ever access Wi-Fi at home take measures to ensure that their WiFi at home is secure
- 42% of all online UK adults would use public WiFi more often if they could guarantee the security of their data
- 67% do not know what a VPN is and are therefore unaware of how a Virtual Private Network could make their data usage more secure
- 68% of smartphone owners do not even know whether or not their smartphone has a VPN function
Facts about the research
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov plc.
The total sample size was 2,124 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 16-19 December 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
The survey findings have been announced by UK2 as it launches VPNHQ, a new brand enabling users to set up a VPN (Virtual Private Network) quickly and easily.
VPNHQ employs native features of mobile devices to encrypt wireless communications, which makes using public WiFi networks far more secure and greatly reduces the chance of private information such as passwords or bank details being stolen or compromised.
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