Walked into a coffee shop and saw 20 laptops open on the same public WiFi

Was grabbing a drink at a local place downtown yesterday and counted at least 20 people working on laptops all connected to the same open WiFi network. No password required, no encryption, just free access for anyone within range. I sat there for an hour and watched people log into bank accounts, email, and even a payroll system. It takes like 2 minutes to set up a VPN on your phone as a hotspot, but nobody does it. Has anyone else noticed how careless people get with public networks at cafes?

2 comments

2 Comments

sanchez.mary13d ago

But isn't it kinda the cafe's responsibility to offer secure WiFi if they're promoting themselves as a workspace? I feel like customers just expect a free connection and don't think about the specifics.

craig.nathan13d ago

Heard a cybersecurity guy say most cafe networks are basically wide open for anyone to sniff traffic on.