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Free airport Wi-Fi is the best, when it’s done right. Being able to pop on the airport’s free Wi-Fi and stream/browse while waiting for your flight helps you forget that you’re spending $$$$ to get stuffed into tiny seats like canned sardines and treated like shit by a staff that hates their jobs. In fact, free airport Wi-Fi is one of the last ‘perks’ of traveling after most airlines have done away with free checked bags, meals, premium drinks and snacks, and everything else that you can think of.
But there’s a major problem free airport Wi-Fi, it’s not always secure. There are plenty of airports across America that offer free Wi-Fi which puts you at risk of getting hacked. Coronet looked at the hacking/identity theft data from the 45 busiest airports in America last year to determine which airports are the most dangerous, and here are the top 10 (via CNBC):
1. San Diego International Airport (threat level 10)
2. John Wayne Airport-Orange County Airport (threat level 8.7)
3. William P Hobby Airport (threat level 7.5)
4. Southwest Florida International Airport (threat level 7.1)
5. Newark Liberty International Airport (threat level 7.1)
6. Dallas Love Field (threat level 6.8)
7. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (threat level 6.5)
8. Charlotte Douglas International Airport (threat level 6.4)
9. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (threat level 6.4)
10. General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport (threat level 6.4)
What exactly can hackers gain access to over unsecured free public Wi-Fi? The big 3: Device, Credentials, and Data. They can trick you into installing malware on your device, you can become a target for phishing, and they can gain access to things like your work email logins, and they can transfer your sensitive data and save it for later.
For more in-depth analysis on this, you can visit CNBC.