NEW YORK, NY March 27, 2023 - Private Communications Corporation recently surveyed 200 Americans about their public wifi habits to provide a snapshot of how public wifi is used in 2023.

Private Communications Corporation recently surveyed 200 remote workers in the U.S. and asked a series of questions about their public wifi habits.

These findings provide a snapshot of how public wifi is being used in 2023.

Everyone Uses Public Wifi for Work

35% of the survey respondents often do company work on public wifi, while 65% sometimes do company work on public wifi. Of the 200 respondents, 0 never do company work on public wifi.

Here’s Where They Use Public Wifi

In the last 6 months:

• 75% did company work in a café or restaurant
• 62% did company work in a hotel room or hotel lobby
• 40% did company work in an airport or airplane
• Over 30% did company work at a conference
• 25% did company work on a train or bus

How Do People Feel About Using Public Wifi?

Over 60% of respondents have been uncomfortable connecting to public wifi due to security risks. This is not surprising, considering how many people are concerned about their online safety in public. When employees are using public wifi, there are risks to both the company and to company data.

Using a VPN on Public Wifi

Our survey found that 35% of respondents have gone on public wifi to do company work using no protection, while 43% use their personal VPN, and 37% have used their company VPN. This shows real inconsistency – sometimes people use their own VPN, sometimes their company VPN, and sometimes they don’t use any VPN.

Home Wifi Security

Our survey found that 86% believe their home wifi network is secure, while 14% said their home network was not secure or they weren’t sure.

It seems that employees have a false sense of security.

A security researcher recently showed that using a wireless scanner he could recover the network passwords for more than 70% of the networks merely by using information collected as he pedaled his bike.

Cybersecurity specialists have warned that weak, default, or easily guessable passwords put wireless networks at risk. With more employees working from home, consumer Wi-Fi networks have also become a gateway to corporate data.

Conclusion

Nearly everyone is connecting to unsafe public wifi to do work at least sometimes.The most popular places to connect to public wifi are cafes and restaurants, hotels, and airports and airplanes.

Most people are aware of the risks of connecting to public wifi, but most are inconsistent when using VPNs to protect themselves.

Methodology

Private Communications Corporation surveyed 200 Americans 25 years and older using Pollfish to better understand how people use public wifi in 2023.

About Private Communications Corporation

Private Communications Corporation (PCC) is a leading provider of Internet security and utilities that enable consumers to have a secured and optimized mobile experience. Remote WorkForce VPN / RemoteWorkForce ZTN are the latest offering from PCC. PCC also distributes a Video Optimization technology that dramatically reduces the data consumed. Additional information is available at PrivateCommunicationsCorp.com.

Private WiFi, PCC’s flagship software offering, is a virtual private network (VPN) that encrypts all data across unsecure WiFi networks, protecting users from the inherent threats—such as identity theft and hacking that unencrypted public WiFi poses. More information on Private WiFi is available at privatewifi.com.

PCC is the partner of choice for top companies in the security, privacy, cable, and telecommunications industries. The company stands for protecting personal data and will never collect users’ private information to sell or otherwise share, which is a unique differentiator. For articles and other online privacy resources, please visit www.private-i.com.

Jennifer Praeger, Global VP, Business Development & Partnerships
Private Communications Corporation
(212) 390-1100
jpraeger@privatewifi.com
privatecommcorp.com