The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK has asked internet operators, retailers and manufacturers to increase their efforts in informing WiFi users about security.
The instructions came after an online research by the ICO showed that 40% of people do not know how to change the security settings on their WiFi networks and that 16% of people are either unsure or are already aware that they are using an unsecured network.
Moreover, the survey found that about 50% of users never change their network password, and another 13% did not remember whether they did or not.
ICO head of policy Steve Wood said that people do not take online security seriously and put their personal information in jeopardy.
Wood said, "The fact that Google’s Street View cars were able to pick up payload data from unsecured WiFi networks as a by-product of their signals mapping exercise has further highlighted that more people need to take their Wi-Fi security settings seriously", he said.
"Leaving your WiFi connection unsecured allows people easy access to your network. This increase in traffic could reduce the speed of your connection or cause you to exceed a data cap imposed by the service provider," he added.
The ICO has published new guidelines on WiFi security.
