A lot of people are still pretty ambiguous to this attack, but it is becoming more popular as new audiences engage in wireless technologies. Hackers and the like create their own ‘wi-fi hotspots’ that they try to get people to connect to. Using tempting SSID’s such as ‘free wifi’ or ‘free internet access’, people will connect to this hotspot when in fact they are being connected through the criminals’ nearby laptop. Once connected, the thief can track all of your keystrokes, so if you decide to access your online bank accounts, consider them compromised.

Computer users have been warned of the dangers of using Wi-Fi hotspots after it emerged that cyber-criminals are targeting the networks in café chains, including Starbucks.

Times Online has uncovered evidence that criminals are using a technique known as an “evil twin attack,” where victims think that they are logging on to the genuine network in a café but are in fact being diverted to a “rogue” connection.

Once logged on to the twin network, the victim’s every keystroke is captured by the fraudster, who controls the connection from a nearby laptop and uses it to extract information for the purpose of committing identity fraud.

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In a chatroom used to discuss the technique, also known as a “man in the middle” attack, Times Online saw information changing hands about how security at Wi-Fi hotspots — of which there are now more than 10,000 in the U.K. — can be bypassed.[more]

Tags: Hackers, Identity Theft, Wireless Security