Railways' Free WiFi - be very careful friends

According to a recent analysis, the free Wi-Fi service provided by Indian Railways in collaboration with Google was found to be the most affected Internet service-provider (ISP) during the recent ransomware attack.

There are numerous ISPs operating within India, and Google’s Railwire, the free Wi-Fi service launched by RailTel, is one of them. RailTel was observed to be the top-most network where WannaCry and other Ransomware have been detected within India, with 32.14% of the entire share,” says anti-virus and content security services provider eScan.

Although Google Railwire’s free Wi-Fi service uses one-time password (OTP) to authenticate the user, continuous data sharing from unsecured devices on such public platforms poses a big risk. Another danger is when peoples use this free facility to visit dubious sites, like porn, and may end up downloading and spreading unwanted codes (read: virus or malware). Many were found using this free facility to download apps and movies. Remember the RailTel survey last year which revealed how the free Wi-Fi service at Patna railway station was used to surf porn. Following the report, RailTel had blocked several such sites.

Under the circumstances, no wonder, Google’s Railwire was the most affected ISP during the recent WannaCry ransomware attack. Says eScan, “We have every reason to believe that the majority of the Ransomware attacks which happened within India could have been averted had RailTel implemented the stop-gap measure of blocking server message (SMB) traffic.”
Using SMB protocol, a user (application) can read, create and update files on a remote server.

While the government is gung-ho about installing free Wi-Fi spots across the India, there is need to validate and tighten the internal security of these networks. And, as usual, there is limited or almost zero education provided to end-users for using such facilities. The levels of digital illiteracy in India, barring a few pockets, are quite alarming. Either people have blind faith in the Internet, or they do not care about digital safety, security, data loss and privacy. Such people include the rich and well educated class as well.

Here are some points one needs to keep in mind while using Wi-Fi, especially free service at public places:

1. Never use free Wi-Fi for financial transactions like online shopping or netbanking;
2. Do not share any confidential or personal information over free Wi-Fi;
3. Use virtual private network (VPN) apps on your device to keep data secure. For Android, there are several free VPN apps like Turbo VPN, and VPN Robot, but try these apps first and then use regularly;
4. Do not let the device connect automatically to free Wi-Fi service. Turn off Wi-Fi feature on your device when not required. Also turn off file sharing while using Wi-Fi;
5. Connecting to unsecure networks can leave your device vulnerable;
6. Protect your system with security suite, not just to block malicious traffic but also to protect your system from harmful activity;
7. Even for your home or office Wi-Fi network, make sure you use a robust passcode and change it regularly. more