AP Cybersecurity
AP Cybersecurity / All lessons / Unit 1: Introduction to Security
1Unit 1: Introduction to Security
AP Cybersecurity topic 1.3

Best Practices for Public Networks

Public Wi-Fi at cafes, airports, and hotels is shared with strangers. An attacker can run a fake hotspot with a trusted-sounding name (an evil twin) and watch traffic. Use HTTPS sites, a VPN or your phone hotspot, turn off auto-join, and avoid sensitive tasks like banking on open networks.

Best Practices for Public Networks vocabulary

  • Evil twin: A rogue Wi-Fi access point that copies the name of a real one.
  • VPN: A virtual private network that encrypts all your traffic to a trusted server.
  • Eavesdropping: Secretly capturing data sent over a network.
  • Auto-join: A device setting that connects to known network names automatically, which evil twins exploit.

AP-style practice questions

Try each one, then open the answer. To save your progress, take this quiz in the interactive course.

Skill: Detect Attacks 
Available networks at Riverside Airport:
  Riverside_Airport_Free   (open)      signal: strong
  Riverside-Airport-Guest  (open)      signal: medium
  RVS_Staff                (WPA3)      signal: weak

1. A traveler notices two similarly named open networks. Which of the following attacks is most likely being attempted?

  1. (A) Evil twin attack
  2. (B) MAC flooding attack
  3. (C) SQL injection attack
  4. (D) Ransomware attack
Show answer

(A) Evil twin attack An evil twin copies the name of a legitimate network so victims connect to the adversary's access point.

Skill: Mitigate Risk

2. Which of the following is the best way for a traveler to protect sensitive data while using open public Wi-Fi?

  1. (A) Turn on a VPN before browsing
  2. (B) Increase the screen brightness
  3. (C) Use incognito mode only
  4. (D) Connect to the network with the strongest signal
Show answer

(A) Turn on a VPN before browsing A VPN encrypts all traffic between the device and the VPN server, so others on the open network cannot read it.

Skill: Analyze Risk

3. A group of activists defaces a company's website to protest the company's environmental record. Which of the following best describes this type of adversary?

  1. (A) Script kiddie
  2. (B) Hacktivist
  3. (C) Insider
  4. (D) State actor
Show answer

(B) Hacktivist Hacktivists attack to promote a political or social cause.

Skill: Analyze Risk

4. Why is it risky for a phone to automatically join any network named "CoffeeShop_WiFi"?

  1. (A) The phone's battery will drain faster
  2. (B) An adversary can create a network with the same name and the phone will connect without asking
  3. (C) The phone will download apps automatically
  4. (D) The network will block all HTTPS sites
Show answer

(B) An adversary can create a network with the same name and the phone will connect without asking Auto-join trusts the network name, which anyone can copy.

Open 1.3 in the interactive course