• The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:45 AM

Did you know that hackers who hang around hot spots could easily steal the personal information of anyone logged into the same Wi-Fi network? Or that the savviest of these cyber criminals don't merely want your credit card or bank account information, but are looking for access to your company's corporate network?

That's right, says Shawn Henry, deputy assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrimes division: be afraid of that Wi-Fi network at your local Starbucks or of accessing your corporate network from the airport. Your home network is no safer, although it's far easier for a hacker to set up shop in a hotel lobby, restaurant or university campus. The biggest problem is that hotels and businesses that offer Wi-Fi are usually unaware that their networks have been breached. Worse, they don't report those incidents, fearing bad publicity.

Meanwhile, wireless hacking is on the rise, though prosecutions have been few. The two most popular methods of stealing personal information are the "evil twin" and "man in the middle" schemes. The former involves a bogus wireless network that poses as a legitimate signal from a provider like T-Mobile. To the end user, the experience of surfing the Web is the same, except that a hacker is able to monitor everything. A man-in-the-middle attack involves a deceptive Wi-Fi network that gives a hacker access to your computer once you log into the network.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »