25 Percent Of Free Wi-Fi In Paris Olympics Is Not Safe, Kaspersky Suggests Using VPN

JAKARTA - Kaspersky revealed that public Wi-Fi in the Paris 2024 Olympics can be connected for free. However, the level of open Wi-Fi security is vulnerable in terms of security.

Head of the META research unit at Kaspersky's Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT), Amin Hasbini, said that his party had mapped the security of the public Wi-Fi network that could be accessed by travelers or visitors to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

"Like sportsmen practicing for summer sports in France, cybercriminals have also prepared unpleasant remarks for millions of people heading to hotels, fan zones and events in Paris," Amin said, quoted from Kaspersky's written statement, quoted Sunday, July 28.

In a study involving 47,891 signal recordings at the Paris 2024 Olympics strategic location, Kaspersky has identified 24,766 'unique' Wi-Fi access points.

Kaspersky found that 25 percent or a quarter of Wi-Fi networks were vulnerable, such as weak or non-existent encryption. The public Wi-Fi security conditions are vulnerable to interception, decryption, or hacking attacks.

Then, he continued, 20 percent of other network points are configured with WPS, an algorithm that is outdated and easy to infiltrate, making it very vulnerable to attacks.

Kaspersky researchers also found a number of other security vulnerabilities from six percent of public WI-Fi analyzed using the latest WPA3 security protocol.

They may install fake access points or infiltrate legitimate networks to intercept and manipulate the data transfer process. An open and misconfigured Wi-Fi network is of great interest to cybercriminals, as it allows password theft, credit card details, and other user-sensitive data," he added.

Based on the findings of GReAT Kaspersky researcher, Amin recommends travelers or visitors to the 2024 Paris Olympics using Virtual Private Network (VPN) to provide extra security layers when accessing public Wi-Fi networks.

VPN is capable of encrypting internet connections, creating secure tunnels between devices and the internet. This encryption prevents cybercriminals from intercepting data, even on unsafe networks.

"By covering the IP address and encrypting all the data sent, VPN ensures that personal and financial information remains protected when using public Wi-Fi," he concluded.