Hospitality establishments and travel hubs around the globe are now recovering from the seasonal rush of visitors, while preparing for more guests in 2017. These days, each traveler is sure to have one or two connected devices on their person at all times, ready to FaceTime family members, text friends and make sure their out-of-office messages are in working order.
With such a high volume of customers relying on Wi-Fi access while on the move this year, WatchGuard Threat Analyst, Marc Laliberte provided some practical tips for Hospitality Technology about how hotels, restaurants and tourist destinations can protect their guests from Wi-Fi attacks over the holidays. In the article, Marc outlines the three most common types of Wi-Fi attacks, and offers four best practices hospitality organizations can use at all times to protect their guests’ data:
- Periodically audit your wireless space to look for rogue access points that might be connected.
- Use Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS) technologies to identify and disrupt any Evil Twin access points operating on your premises.
- Use WPA-2 in Pre-Shared Key (PSK) mode and provide your patrons with the password. While adding a password reduces the usability of your public hotspot, it adds security by encrypting wireless traffic. This isn’t a perfect fix though, as anyone with access to the shared password could launch an attack to snoop on other users. Using WPA-2 PSK does increase the barrier of entry for attackers though, reducing attacks of opportunity against weak Wi-Fi networks.
- Additionally, arm yourself with knowledge by staying up to date on the latest industry standards promoted by organizations like the Wi-Fi Alliance, a global network of companies that make and certify Wi-Fi solutions.
Read the entire article on Hospitality Technology to learn more about the top wireless attacks that can be used against travelers and how to prevent them.