One of the first things many of us do when travelling is get the hotel, bar or restaurant Wi-Fi password and log on, often wrongly believing it’s a safe option.

Yet in your desire to save data and, in the case of travelling abroad, avoid roaming charges, you could be at risk of exposure to hackers.

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of Wi-Fi systems used by hotels, conference centres and other shared venues around the world being compromised by a sophisticated hacking group identified by Microsoft.

The compromises carried out by the hackers are subtle and, to an untrained eye, can seem like completely legitimate requests. For example, you may connect to the hotel Wi-Fi and get a notification for a Windows update, browser update, security check or sign-in request. However, by following the instructions you could unintentionally give cyber criminals access to your accounts, passwords and personal details.

Daniel explained: “These recent incidents only go to reinforce the message that we give to all our clients and contacts – don’t automatically trust public Wi-Fi as it has never been 100% safe. Just because it may be a reputable hotel chain or major international airport and the login page looks legitimate, there are always risks. Hackers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, so the safest way to use the internet is via your own mobile data.

He added: “If you are going to use public Wi-Fi, then don’t carry out any browser updates, don’t install anything and ignore all ‘pop-ups’ and authentication requests.”

If you are using your own mobile data, you can keep costs down by investing in a travel eSIM. Read our recent article on some of the best travel sims available.

Find out more about keeping cyber safe when travelling overseas by reading Daniel’s recent article in International Security Journal.