Ever wondered why your home or office Wi-Fi bundles run out
so fast? Most probably they would have been depleted by someone who would have
hacked into your network.
At home, one of the tell-tale signs is that a number of
people are always milling outside your yard, engrossed on their phones or
tablets and others even audacious enough to use their laptops.
Wi-Fi hacking is essentially cracking the security
protocols in a wireless network, granting full access for the hacker to view,
store, download, or abuse the wireless network. Usually, when someone hacks
into a Wi-Fi, they are able to observe all the data that is being sent via the
network. An unauthorised person using your wireless network would be able to
see pretty much everything you do online.
Hacking these systems according to an information and
communication technology (ICT) expert, Ms Victoria Ngono is easy as the entry,
a password, only takes guess work, free hacking software or obtaining it from a
family member.
“There are a number of ways in which hackers do this and
the most popular is using a Wi-Fi password key revealing software that enables
hackers to see a list of all passwords associated with a certain network.
Unfortunately, this software is readily available online at no cost to all who
wish to use it. Other hackers simply take advantage of the lack of strong
passwords on our Wi-Fi devices to ‘guess’ what the password could be.
Therefore, it is best to avoid using pet names and common names of individuals as
passwords,” said Ms Ngono the executive director of Girl’s in Stem Trust.
For example, if you are Mr Ndlovu, a weak password like
Ndlovu123 would be easy for miscreants to guess.
In the city centre, there are many mobile hotspots offered
by Zol, TelOne and Econet, that have been set up and people are seen face down
engrossed in their phones as they browse social media. Some of the people who
mill around these Wi-Fi spots are actually hackers breaking into systems from
surrounding private networks.
When one moves around, with the Wi-Fi function of their
phone on, they are able to catch numerous signals of the wireless networks for
many businesses and hackers target those signals.
Ms Ngono said there were many signs that indicate that
one’s wireless network has been compromised.
“The most common sign and the most obvious one is that a
hacked Wi-Fi always makes the Internet connection a lot slower, as someone else
might be using your Wi-Fi to surf the web. Another sign to look out for is to
check if the router’s activity is still blinking after turning off the devices
in your house or offices that are using Wi-Fi. If the light still continues to
blink, it means that some unauthorised person is using your Wi-Fi,” said Ms
Ngono.
It’s not only about someone being able to bum off your
Wi-Fi, but it’s also about security of your information as if they can get on
it so easy, they can take out anything.
These are some of the dangers that can befall any
organisation or individual. Any stored information on your browser (like stored
passwords and webpage history) which is usually confidential can be compromised
if it falls into the hands of hackers. Any sensitive financial information
accessed or saved or stored in your browser can also reach the public domain if
a hacker infiltrates your network. “Furthermore, hackers are also able to alter
any online content that you see. With all the information collected from your
compromised Wi-Fi, hackers can use your information for their own personal
needs. They can either sell it, impersonate you or even take money out of your
bank account without you noticing,” said Ms Ngono.
Having complex passwords that combine capital letters,
small letters and symbols or numbers is one way of protecting oneself from
hackers.
Passwords should be kept secret as an additional
precaution.
“Whether you are at the office or at home make sure that
your router does not broadcast your ID information. This can be done by
changing your network’s SSID (service set identifier or Wi-Fi name) to make
personal information invisible and allowing only authorised devices to connect
to your router. It may be wise also to use a Virtual Private Network popularly
known as a VPN to create a private, dedicated tunnel for all your information
to pass through which provides an extra layer of protection for your data
making it difficult to access. Overall employing strong encryption methods
really is one of the best, if not the best ways to ensure security while
online,” said Ms Ngono.
After getting Wi-Fi passwords, hackers can access essential
passwords and hit organisations through ransomware. Hackers access the network,
retrieve the information and threaten to publish it unless the victim gives
them ransom money.
In 2017 the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) was
allegedly hit with a cyber-attack where a hacker gained access to their
passwords and locked them out of their systems. The individual behind the hack
demanded 1 000 Bitcoins (that now cost over US$6 million), a cryptocurrency
that is hard to trace if one pays them. It was never revealed how HIT resolved
the issue.
The New York Times reported recently that hackers are
locking people out of their networks and demanding big payments for them to get
back in. The hacker locks you out of the network through encryption keys and
upon paying them the required amounts money they give you the keys to unlock
your information.
According to the paper, the frequency of ransomware attacks
— among the scariest and most costly online assaults — has been hard to
pinpoint because many victims quietly pay off their attackers without notifying
the authorities.
In Zimbabwe, what happens when one is caught stealing
information off your network?
Ms Ngono said the Cybercrime, Security and Data Protection
Bill, when passed into law, will assist.
Cabinet approved the Bill in October last year and it is
expected in Parliament soon. “The Bill clearly defines what is regarded as a
crime committed in cyberspace. Strong punitive measures, however, need to be
highlighted as a deterrent to those encroaching on to networks without
authorisation to avoid these crimes,” she said.
She said when the law is enacted, it is important to
highlight that just because these crimes are committed virtually does not in
any way lessen their extent and gravity.
“Data has become a very valuable and lucrative resource in
the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution as evidenced by the number of
organisations investing in it for improved, effective and efficient business
operations, so it is of paramount importance that it is protected,” said Ms
Ngono.
The problem in enforcing the law, according to a prominent
ICT expert, Mr Robert Ndlovu will likely be that police appear to lack the
training to investigate computer-related crime.
“When I said that in 2016, I had seen the deficiencies in
the system. Fast-forward to today, I still have the same misgivings with
regards to the cybercrime preparedness of our security forces. There’s not many
of them that have hands-on experience and this in a digital world is a
problem,” said Mr Ndlovu. Chronicle
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