The title needs changed, as the article doesn't actually address wifi hacking.
Certainly it would be a big power drain, but for the security conscious it sounds like a reasonably easy short-term solution. That, and not accessing sensitive data in public, of course.
This is like securing your windshield in your car, and not worrying about the car door locks.
The people who know how to snarf your information this way, probably can hack you a dozen other ways too.