Weekly Security Tip | 10/13/17

Are Hackers listening in to your conversations??

A study done at the University of Belgium has found that a security layer that protects Wi-Fi networks, has been cracked and hackers could be listening to your conversations right now.  WPA2 is the security protocol that is in place to protect the modern Wi-Fi network but hackers have been able to manipulate the cryptographic elements behind the security.

The issue can affect devices that are connected to a Wi-Fi network and have found that operating systems such as Google’s Android, Apple’s iOS and Microsoft’s Windows are to be vulnerable.

How does this work?

Essentially we can think of the WPA2 as a 4 way handshake.  The first part takes place once a user has put in their correct password to access a Wi-Fi network.  From there, a new encryption key is generated to encrypt subsequent traffic.  This is where hackers are able to manipulate the process by what is called a key re-installation attack or KRACK.  The research does mention as well, that the hacker must be within range of the victim in order for this to work.

Who can be affected?

Unfortunately, any device that is connected to a Wi-Fi network can be affected.  A certain version of Linux and devices running Android 6.0 and above may have catastrophic concerns however.  According to data from Google, half of the android devices in circulation are using this version, so be sure to check yours!

What do you do now?

First off, you don’t have to worry about changing your Wi-Fi password, just make sure that all of your devices and firmware of your router are updated and continue to use the WPA2 protocol.

So far, a Google spokesperson has tweeted that “Android devices with a security patch level of November 6, 2017 or later are protected against these vulnerabilities”.

Microsoft has said that to address the issue they have released a security update.

Apple also confirmed that currently in beta mode, they have a fix and the software will be coming soon to everyone.

by BlackBox Connections
Topic: Wi-Fi Security Flaw Found!

Copyright © 2017 Security Tips, All rights reserved.