Protecting Your Cellular Hotspot

WiFi hotspots are an efficient tool for working remotely while protecting your device from the vulnerabilities of free public WiFi.  We receive inquiries from clients about the security of their cellular hotspots and jet packs so here are some tips and tricks to help keep your device safe.

1.      Enable WPA2 Encryption: Many of the newer Wi-Fi hotspots come with default security measures already on turn on. Usually the manufacturer enables WPA-PSK encryption, but the default encryption strength might be set to outdated standard, such as WEP encryption, to allow for compatibility with older cellular devices. Enable WPA2, if available on your device, as it is the most secure encryption option for mobile hotspots.

2.      Change Your Network Name: Another way to ensure your hotspot is secure, it to change the name of your wireless network (often referred to as SSID). Computer hackers have tables for the 1,000 most common factory-default SSIDs and lists of the 1 million common default pass-phrases. Your best bet is to change the default name, and make it as unique as possible by avoiding actual words found in the dictionary.

3.      Create a Strong Password: Thanks to those table-based attacks described in #2, you should also change your wireless network password (also referred to as the pre-shared key). The longer your password and the more random the characters, the more secure you’ll be. Avoid dictionary words, and try to use a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols. If you're ever in doubt over the integrity of the people you share your hotspot with, change your network password immediately, and change it often.

4.      Consider Port-filtering Features: Some hotspots, allow you to enable what’s called “port-filtering” as a security measure. It will allow you to block access to FTP, HTTP, e-mail traffic, and other services solely based on how you want your hotspot to be utilized. By blocking these “ports” in the port-filtering configuration settings, you can minimize the number of threats by reducing the number of paths through which potential attackers can access your network.