Using laptops at Starbucks could lead to poisoned browsers
According to reports, using public Wi-Fi hotspots could lead to a nasty laptop virus infection. Public locations such as coffee shops and airports have been prime target areas for these wireless attacks from hackers. As Wi-Fi becomes widely available across the globe, this growing type of hacking could become a serious concern.
In the good old days, the only way hackers could break into your computer was through a wired connection at home. It seems like there is a growing concern with hackers attacking via Wi-Fi from public places. With coffee shops like Starbucks and Barnes & Nobles offering Wi-Fi access to the public, these spots have become target areas for hackers.
According to PC World, in addition to coffee shops, public Wi-Fi access at airports have also become a bigger security threat then before. Apparently, hackers can connect to your laptop wirelessly in order to “poison” your browser’s caches. This allows the hacker to display a fake Web page or steal important information off the laptop.
According to Mike Kershaw, a developer of Kismet wireless network detector and intrusion detection system, attacking a public 802.11 wireless network in order to inject poison JavaScript files into a users Web browser is simple.
Kershaw stated:
Once you’ve left Starbucks, you’re owned. I own your cache-control header. You’re still loading the cache JavaScript when you go back to work… Open networks have no client protection… Nothing stops us from spoofing the [wireless access point] and talking directly to the client.
According to Kershaw once the browser cache is poisoned, it will stay there unless the user knows how to completely wipeout the cache. Some devices such as the iPhone or Blackberry also rely on caching. Not many people know how to wipe the cache on mobile devices.
Kershaw recommends users to manually clear the cache continuously. He is also recommending corporate security professionals to forbid users from taking their laptops onto public Wi-Fi networks. Forbidding access may be an easy solution, but it may also defeat the purpose of having Wi-Fi capability for those who travel often.
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