Hiding a computer from hackers in an isolated location is pointless. It’s the internet’s interconnectedness that poses a threat to our devices. Sometimes, the threats come from unexpected quarters, such as in the case of a Wi-Fi dependency evil twin attack. But, first and foremost, what exactly is it and how does it function?
What is an Evil Twin Attack?
An example of an evil twin attack is using a phoney Wi-Fi hotspot. A fake access point is created to seem like the real thing.
What is the secret?
Hackers will cut and paste the SSID – Service Set Identifier – into a fake hotspot. They then create their own Wi-Fi hotspot (using security testing tools like the Wi-Fi Pineapple) that transmits the same SSID.
Here’s how an evil twin may get you
If the hacker has done their work well, your device will have no way of determining which network is genuine. These days, you don’t just copy the SSID; you should also mimic the encryption that the network uses. With no obvious indications of malfeasance, you connect to the evil twin network thinking it’s the genuine access point, and you’re off to have your data stolen.
Furthermore, hackers can even disconnect you from a recognized connection to a trusted network by deauthentication assault, forcing the Wi-Fi-connected gadgets to re-authenticate on the network.
It’s the start of a much larger fight.
However, this is only half of the story. Being that mythical man in a man-in-the-middle assault is an integral part of being an evil twin. Once you’re linked to the hacker’s hotspot, they may simply duplicate your data, sure, but they can also do a lot more nefarious things with it.
By controlling your data stream, attackers may inject phoney login pages to capture your login data, which is a form of a phishing attack. They can simply collect all of the usernames and passwords for anything you use (as long as they set up bogus website login pages) while you’re using the hotspot this way.
How to defend yourself from an evil twin hacking
Fortunately, there are cybersecurity precautions you can take to defend yourself from hacking:
- Disable auto-connect: Despite the fact that your smartphone has a sophisticated name, it is anything but, thus it will connect to the malevolent twin Wi-Fi networks, especially if their signal is stronger.
- Download a VPN: Use a VPN for PC to encrypt your data, making it far harder for hackers to locate and track your activi
- Do not connect to unprotected Wi-Fi: It’s also unsafe and significantly simpler to steal for evil twin assaults if the Wi-Fi network does not require a password.
- Don’t dismiss security alerts: Connected devices such as smartphones and laptops include security features preinstalled, some of which may notify you when the network encryption is different from the previous time you connected to this Wi-Fi network. Those alerts are crucial, so if you don’t know what they indicate, search online.
