Public Wi-Fi has gained a foothold in the People’s Republic, with everywhere from metro stations to airports, as well as the usual suspects (bars, coffee shops, hotels), offering free Internet access to mobile users.
Guangzhou is no exception. The Guangzhou Metro Company launched free Wi-Fi at the end of last year and, in July of this year, it was announced that the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong fast trains will offer the service to passengers.
While most would agree the service is welcome, authorities in Guangzhou are raising concerns about free, public Wi-Fi spots.
According to China Plus, police in ‘the Zhou’ are pushing to have free Wi-Fi spots require real-name registration in an effort to identify hackers and cyber criminals. As the vast majority of public Wi-Fi spots do not require formal authentication, personal info (passwords, online banking logins, etc.) could be “easily” accessed by hackers.
On occasion, claims China Plus, the free Wi-Fi providers have been discovered to be cyber criminals themselves, looking to steal personal details.
A recent example of Wi-Fi hotspot hacking occurred in Nanjing, when a man was hacked and had his bank card used a staggering 69 times while using public Wi-Fi. He lost more than RMB60,000, according to the People's Daily.
In addition to requiring real-name registration, authorities in Guangzhou are planning to step up their monitoring of free Wi-Fi providers to ensure they install sufficient cyber security programs.
READ MORE: How to Use Free Wi-Fi on the Guangzhou Metro
[Image via China Daily]
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