Real dangers of sharing your Wi-Fi password

Although sharing your Wi-Fi connection may not be illegal, it could nonetheless put you in a legal predicament or expose your network to serious cybersecurity threats.

MyBroadband recently spoke to the Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA) about the legal grey areas involved in sharing one’s Internet connectivity with neighbours.

While the industry’s regulations are not clear-cut, Wapa’s Paul Colmer explained that sharing access to a Wi-Fi connection with a neighbour over private property boundaries was unlikely to be illegal.

The biggest problem is that you could be violating your Internet service provider’s terms of service, although this would generally only apply if you resell your connection for a fee.

Colmer said it was unlikely that ISPs would look unkindly on good samaritans providing free access to their connection for a vulnerable person who may not be able to afford Internet themselves.

However, you could inadvertently end up on the wrong side of the law due to how your neighbour behaves online.

Several pieces of legislation have come into effect in the past few years that explicitly criminalised certain online acts and made them easier to prosecute.

For example, the Cybercrimes Act, which came into force on 1 December 2020, stipulates penalties and jail terms for crimes committed in cyberspace, including theft, fraud, forgery, and extortion.

Under South African law, downloading, streaming, or uploading copyrighted content has also been illegal for a very long time.

While downloading and streaming “pirate” content may not land you in trouble, uploading might.

If the person you shared your Internet connection with uses it to commit a cybercrime and this is detected by law enforcement, the police are likely to show up at your door.

That is because cybercrime perpetrators are typically identified through their IP address and port number at a given time, which will point investigators to the person.

While further investigation may exonerate you from prosecution, proving your innocence could nonetheless become an emotional and financial burden.

However, even if the person you share your connection with commits no cybercrime, how you share your password could expose it to malicious actors.

Password exposure

Privacy-focused software company Proton has explained that sharing a password in an insecure way risked giving access to your network to bad actors.

“Hackers can either attack the connection between your router and your Wi-Fi provider, or your router itself,” Proton said.

The firm explained that this could wreak havoc on a home’s network.

“Your Wi-Fi network contains a lot of sensitive information,” the company explained.

“Your computers, laptops, phones, game consoles, and data-collecting smart devices, such as camera doorbells and thermostats, are all connected to your network,” the company explains.

Proton explained that attackers could use your own security cameras to spy on your activities or use ransomware software to blackmail you into sharing personal information, among other issues.

“If you share your Wi-Fi password via text or email and the wrong person sees it, the consequences could be severe,” it warned.

Proton has compiled a detailed article explaining the best practices for safely sharing a Wi-Fi password, including using a QR code on Android or Bluetooth on iOS.

Inadvertent infection

Cybersecurity provider Malwarebytes has also warned that devices connected to your network could compromise it even if you shared your password without somehow exposing it to a malicious party.

“If a malware-laden laptop is dropped onto your network, you could end up spreading the malware around your devices,” the company said.

To prevent this, Malwarebytes recommended that users set up a guest Wi-Fi network for friends, visitors, or whoever may need to access the Internet through their connection.

“This keeps them separated from the password-protected network you’re using,” it explained.

“You can also use time-limited passwords or enable other restrictions related to file and settings access.”