Jaipur, Sep 5 (IANS)In its effort to curb cybercrime and strengthen public awareness about cybersecurity, the Cyber Crime Branch, Rajasthan Police, has issued an advisory urging citizens to secure their Wi-Fi networks against hacking and unauthorised access.
Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime) VK Singh said that in today’s digital environment, Wi-Fi is not merely a means of accessing the internet but a network connecting mobile phones, laptops, smart TVs, and other smart devices in homes and offices.
Weak router security can allow unauthorised devices to connect to the network, potentially resulting in increased data consumption, slower internet speeds, data breaches, cyber fraud, hacking, and compromise of personal information. Citizens who suspect that an unauthorised device is connected to their Wi-Fi network can connect a mobile phone or laptop to the same network and access the router’s administration page through a web browser. After logging in with the router’s administrator username and password, users can check the list of connected devices under options such as “Connected Devices,” “Device List,” or “Attached Devices.” Any unfamiliar device should be investigated and removed from the network.
The Cyber Crime Branch has advised users to immediately change the default administrator password provided by the router manufacturer. Router settings can generally be accessed through addresses such as 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. Users should also set a strong Wi-Fi password containing a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. The Wi-Fi network name (SSID) should preferably not reveal personal information or unnecessarily disclose the router’s brand. The advisory recommends enabling WPA3 encryption wherever supported by the router. If WPA3 is unavailable, users should use at least WPA2-AES. Older and outdated security protocols such as WEP and WPA should be avoided.
For stronger security, users are advised to keep WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) disabled. The remote management feature of the router should also be turned off unless it is specifically required, as disabling it reduces the risk of unauthorised attempts to access router settings over the internet. Households using smart TVs, smart appliances, cameras, or other IoT devices should consider connecting them to a guest Wi-Fi network rather than the primary network. Separating these devices can provide an additional layer of protection for mobile phones, laptops, and other important devices connected to the main network.
Users should regularly update their router’s firmware to ensure that the latest security patches released by the manufacturer are installed. Where available and appropriate, users may also enable MAC address filtering/whitelisting to restrict network access to trusted devices.
Rajasthan Police have appealed to citizens to immediately report incidents involving Wi-Fi tampering, cyber fraud, hacking, unauthorised access, or other cybercrimes to the nearest police station or cyber police station. In cases of financial cyber fraud, citizens should immediately call the cybercrime helpline number 1930 to seek prompt assistance.
–IANS
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