Knowing Evil Twin Attacks And Reasons To Be Careful Using Public Wi-Fi

Kenal seranganevil twin (freepik)

YOGYAKARTA - In this digital era, public Wi-Fi is a daily necessity. However, behind the ease of access there is a threat of alien twin. Curious about this cybersecurity threat? Let's get to know the alien twin attack further. The mode of attack of this type is to disguise the identity of their fake network.

This article will review some cases of alien twin attacks that have occurred and provide tips for keeping you safe when connected to public Wi-Fi networks.

Reporting from Kaspersky's page, theevil twin attack occurred when an attacker created a fake Wi-Fi access point in the hope that users would connect to this fake network instead of a legitimate network.

When the user is connected to this fake access point, all the data they share with the network will pass through the server controlled by the attacker.

Then attackers can create alien twins using smartphones or other internet-connected devices and some software that is easy to obtain. However, alien twin attacks are more common in unsafe public Wi-Fi networks and make your personal data vulnerable.

Before continuing, also read the article discussing Safe Tips Using Wi-Fi During Flights to Avoid Cyber Attacks

Unlike other cyberattacks, here are some of the typical ways the alien twin Wi-Fi attack works:

Hackers usually look for locations that are crowded with free and popular Wi-Fi. This includes places like coffee shops, libraries, or airports, which often have access points with the same name. This will make it easier for hackers' fake networks to go undetected.

The hacker then recorded Service Set Identifier (SSID) from the legitimate network and created a new account with the same SSID.

Hackers can even use almost all devices to do this, including portable smartphones, laptops, tablets, or routers.

Hackers also allow using a device called Wi-Fi Pineapple to reach a wider reach. Connected devices cannot distinguish between the original connection and the fake version.

Hackers may move closer to their victims to make connection signals more powerful than legitimate versions. This convinces people to choose their network than weaker ones and force some devices to connect automatically.

If before you can log into multiple public Wi-Fi accounts, you have to send data on a public login page. Then theevil twin hacker can easily create a copy of this page.

Hackers do this in the hope of tricking suspicious victims into revealing their login credentials. Once hackers have the credentials, they can log into the network and control them.

Anyone who enters will be connected via hackers. This is a classic man-in-the-middle attack that allows hackers to monitor victims' online activities, either rolling through social media or accessing their bank accounts.

If users log into one of their accounts, hackers can steal their login credentials. Well, what is very dangerous is that the victim uses the same credentials for several accounts.

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