Jaipur, September 5, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Cyber Crime Branch of Rajasthan Police has issued an advisory urging citizens to secure their Wi-Fi networks against hacking and unauthorised access as part of efforts to curb cybercrime and strengthen cybersecurity awareness.
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.
He warned that weak router security can allow unauthorised devices to access a network, potentially leading to higher 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 open the router’s administration page through a web browser.
After logging in with the router administrator’s username and password, users can check 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 using a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. The network name (SSID) should preferably not disclose personal information or unnecessarily reveal the router brand.
The advisory recommends enabling WPA3 encryption wherever supported. If WPA3 is unavailable, users should use at least WPA2-AES and avoid older security protocols such as WEP and WPA.
For additional protection, users should keep WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) disabled. Remote management of the router should also be turned off unless specifically required, as this reduces the risk of unauthorised attempts to access router settings over the internet.
Households using smart TVs, smart appliances, cameras and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices have been advised to consider connecting them to a guest Wi-Fi network instead of the primary network. Separating such devices can provide an additional layer of protection for mobile phones, laptops and other important devices.
The police also advised users to regularly update router firmware so that the latest security patches released by manufacturers are installed. Where available and appropriate, MAC address filtering or whitelisting can also be enabled to restrict network access to trusted devices.
Rajasthan Police has appealed to citizens to immediately report Wi-Fi tampering, cyber fraud, hacking, unauthorised access and other cybercrimes to the nearest police station or cyber police station.
In cases of financial cyber fraud, citizens should immediately call the cybercrime helpline 1930 for prompt assistance.
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