Engineering work does not stay at a desk anymore. You review a pull request from a cafe, flash firmware on a device at a client site, pull the latest model file from a coworking space, or SSH into a build server from an airport lounge between flights. The flexibility is genuinely useful. The problem is that public and shared networks were never built to be trusted, and the moment your project data crosses one, it is exposed in ways it would not be on your own network at the office.
This is not a lecture about avoiding public Wi-Fi, which is neither realistic nor necessary. It is about understanding exactly what is at risk when you work over a network you do not control, and using the right layer of protection so that convenience does not quietly cost you your credentials, your source, or ...
