New Delhi sources stated that for professionals and tourists alike, connecting to a public Wi-Fi is a boon keeping the high roaming data cost in mind, but connecting to any available free network can easily expose your data to hackers who are waiting for you to log into. Furthermore not just abroad, signing frequently into free Internet at hotels, coffee shops, conferences or shopping malls in India is equally dangerous, especially if there is lack of multi-layered security and encryption.
As per recent report by Google and global research firm Analysys Mason, public Wi-Fi in India has the ability to capture 40 million new connected users by 2019, resulting in at least $20 billion being added to the country's GDP. Meanwhile in a recent survey reported by Russia based software security group Kaspersky Lab, 70% of tablet owners and 53% of smart phone/mobile phone owners stated that they use public Wi-Fi hotspots.
Kaspersky Lab said "However, because data sent through public Wi-Fi can easily be intercepted, many mobile device and laptop users are risking the security of their personal information, digital identity and money". Kaspersky Lab informed "By using a VPN when you connect to a public Wi-Fi network, you'll effectively be using a ‘private tunnel' that encrypts all of your data that passes through the network which can help to prevent cybercriminals that are lurking on the network from intercepting your data”.
