CERT-In Warning: Turn Off Wi-Fi If Not In Use Or Face This Major Risk

CERT-In has asked users to not conduct sensitive activities such as online shopping, baking or sensitive work while using a public wireless network.

If you encounter any cybersecurity related incidents then you can approach CERT-In at: incident@cert-in.org.in

Source : X/@IndianCERT

Indian cybersecurity agency, CERT-In, has issued an advisory recently against the usage of Wi-Fi and its Do's and Don'ts. Many of us might already be aware of the risks that are associated with using public Wi-Fi but there might still be a few things that we can learn from the advisory to keep ourselves safe.

A number of people who have Wi-Fi in their homes have the habit of letting their phone's Wi-Fi stay on even if they step out of the house to go to some other area. We think that there's nothing wrong with this and the phone will only connect to Wi-Fi when we'll return home, right? No, if there's any open public network available outside then out phone will connect to it automatically, leaving us vulnerable to potential attacks. Any hacker then can easily use this opportunity to hack into our devices and even do fraudulent transactions to empty our bank accounts.

Safety tip of the day: Switch off Wi-Fi service when not in use.#indiancert #cyberswachhtakendra #staysafeonline #cybersecurity #besafe #staysafe #mygov #Meity #onlinefraud #cybercrime #scamming #cyberalert #CSK #CyberSecurityAwareness pic.twitter.com/Al4RiFBTTY

— CERT-In (@IndianCERT) July 26, 2024

CERT-In Advisory

First and foremost, CERT-In has suggested users to always confirm the name of the network and the exact login procedures with appropriate staff to ensure that the network is legitimate. 

The agency has warned us to refrain from doing any online shopping or bank transactions while being connected to an open public network. Further, the agency said that if we need to use it for shopping or e-banking then we should only use those websites whose URL begin with "HTTPS://"

The CERT-In has recommended to use public wireless networks only and only when it is required. When the Wi-Fi is not in use then it has suggested us to turn the Wi-Fi off. Most importantly, turn the Auto-Connect Wi-Fi option off. 

Needless to say, it has advised us to keep our operating system and anti-virus up to date.

Lastly, the agency has suggested that users use a strong password combination at home and outside for Wi-Fi