Recent reports released by researchers at the University Of Liverpool revealed that WiFi networks are becoming highly prone to un-detectable virus infections spreading quickly between homes and businesses. Purple WiFi, the cloud-based Social WiFi software company, has highlighted the need to take action against these WiFi security threats.

A recent Purple WiFi survey covering 3,349 venues across the globe, uncovered that 2048 venues were running completely open networks, meaning anyone could access their network, putting them at greater risk of virus attack. But as with many security-related issues, potential threats become minimised with the right systems in place.

Purple WiFi is cloud-based which means that it can work with practically any hardware and is scalable in terms of customer need and geographic location. It offers an alternative to existing WiFi services by putting the focus back on the business or venue. It does this by offering marketing tools and analytics to derive value from interactions with customers whilst providing a secure and independent channel for commercial use.
More importantly, a number of key security aspects are offered with Purple WiFi’s platform, which relate directly to its unique, cloud-managed approach to hotspot provision. Purple WiFi’s security system is able to block traffic between devices connected at hotspot points and crucially, offer infection control and the ability to quarantine those connections that might demonstrate the symptoms of WiFi-related flu.

Gavin Wheeldon, CEO, Purple WiFi comments: “We were very interested to read the research and believe that now, more than ever, WiFi providers need to gain a deeper understanding of potential threats of this kind to their networks as well as display 'safe and secure free WiFi' signage at their venues to reassure customers.

“At Purple WiFi, the emphasis is on how we eliminate the complexity and uncertainty of locally managed hotspots whilst bringing new levels of simplicity, security and insight to the cloud. We’re currently implementing a number of positive measures to protect users and AP’s on our network, including but not limited to preventing direct IP-IP traffic on the hotspot, physical interface lockdown on web UI’s and removing AP package manager capability. We are also able to flash our routers at cloud-scale, should any compromise occur as well as implement an extra layer of checks for this to ensure tighter security.”

But how will this impact the development of Hotspot 2.0?
Wheeldon concludes: “Moving forward, Hotspot 2.0 will soon bring mandatory on-client encryption, and should give clients more confidence that they are connecting to a safe and secure hotspot, rather than being something that actually makes the AP safer. We will be observing the latest developments in the hotspot world with great interest, particularly in the field of security where our cloud-based approach can demonstrate its inherent strengths."