Vacationing in Europe? Travelers a gold mine for cyber criminals

Hacker alert for travelers! Tourists in Europe are a true goldmine for cybercriminals. It’s August again, and in Europe, that means “out of office” messages, “closed” signs and desolated streets.

It is the month of vacations, and that often means spending two weeks or more away from home. With the loosened focus on personal belongings and privacy, cyber criminals find ways to steel in a big way.

Free WiFi at cafes, airports, restaurants and city streets is used by almost everyone who’s traveling – but people should pay more attention to where they connect to the WiFi. Far too few travelers take the extra step to make sure their browsing is not only convenient, but also safe.

The most common ways of how hackers take advantage of public WiFi hotspots have been the same for years. Yet travelers still fall into the trap. 

Honeypot WiFi

The most common threat is a hacker positioning himself as a WiFi hotspot – the so-called honeypot WiFi. In this scenario, cybercriminals set up fake WiFi hotspots, which are usually free and lure unsuspicious travelers into using them. If you connect to such a hotspot, all your personal information will be sent to a hacker. And that could include credit card details, private emails, and any other sensitive information.

Wireless sniffers

Another popular tactic is to use sniffers, a software designed to intercept and decode data when it is transmitted over a network. Wireless sniffers are specifically created for capturing data on wireless networks but are normally used by IT specialists to track the health of a system and diagnose problems. When a sniffer falls into a hacker’s hands, it can be easily applied to monitor and decode another person’s private data.

Shoulder surfing

This one requires the least amount of technical knowledge. If you are checking your online banking account or using credit card data in a crowded coffee shop or an airport, remember that there might be data thieves lurking around. They will watch over your shoulder to memorize the passwords or credit card information that you enter into your device. Just as it’s important to be careful when entering a PIN number into an ATM, it’s important to make sure no one is looking over your shoulder when going online at a public WiFi hotspot.

How to protect yourself

However, the legitimate hotel or airport WiFi is also not safe because it’s a public network. A hacker can connect to an open network anytime to snoop on users’ online activity, steal passwords and other personal data.

“Number one thing that all travelers should do to feel safe is to ensure that the information they transmit online is encrypted. In this case, a virtual private network is something that can help. It safely encrypts all information that a user enters online into a secure tunnel,” says Marty P. Kamden, CMO of NordVPN. “Other steps that users need to take are often common sense – to install latest security updates, use strong passwords, back up their information, and so on.”

NordVPN expert advises not to share personal laptops or smartphones with strangers, and never keep such items unsecured. Before traveling, think how many gadgets you really need – it might be a good idea to leave those at home. Travelers should also avoid using unknown USBs or accept them as presents.

Using a VPN when browsing can protect a user against snooping and malware that targets online access points. That’s especially relevant when using a public hotspot. To find out more about NordVPN, please visit nordvpn.com.

ABOUT NORDVPN

NordVPN is the world’s most advanced VPN service provider that is more security oriented than most VPN services. It offers double VPN encryption, ad blocking & Onion Over VPN. The product is very user friendly, offers one of the best prices on the market, has over 4,500 servers worldwide and is P2P friendly. One of the key features of NordVPN is zero log policy. www.nordvpn.com.