Krack WiFi Attack: Vulnerabilities in WPA2 Protocol

All Wi-Fi connections are potentially vulnerable to a newly discovered security attack called "Krack", which allows an attacker to listen in on internet traffic (a Man-in-the-Middle Attack) over a wireless network. 

In theory, a hacker could read your web and email communications, and even inject malware like ransomware onto your device. Krack takes advantage of unpatched Apple, Android, and Windows operation systems, while unpatched Wi-Fi access points can be manipulated to orchestrate the man-in-the-middle attack.

The sky is not falling in on WiFi, this is not like the WEP protocol situation of many years ago, WEP is a security protocol fundamentally flawed by design, WPA2 encryption is not broken, the software that uses it needs to be corrected to secure it. Wireless Access Points (APs) and operating systems that use WPA2 are (or soon will be) patchable, which protects them from this attack.

For a video demo of the attack see - https://www.krackattacks.com/#demo 

For the full technical details of the WPA2 flaw and attack method see - https://papers.mathyvanhoef.com/ccs2017.pdf

Wireless Usage Advice

• Make sure your laptop operating system has the very latest security updates patched (always) i.e. Windows, Linux, Mac. Microsoft said they have already patched Windows systems, but at this time have not confirmed details about which patch it was. Several Linux distributions have released patches for the flaw.

• Make sure your smartphone and tablet devices have the latest security updates patched, especially Android devices, and Apple, and Windows (if anyone still uses it)

• As always, if you are going to use public WiFii networks, my first suggestion is to avoid using public WiFi, but if you are, use VPN software. Using a secure VPN will protect you against "Krack exploited" public WiFi access points, regardless of patching and whether AP is exploited. Failing that, if you like to take risks with your personal and confidential information, as a very last resort ensure you use "https://" websites only, and be extra vigilant the "https://" do not revert to "http://".  If it does, it is a clear sign of a compromised wireless network and of your connection to it.

Preventing Your Wireless Access Point from being Exploited

Wireless Access Points (AP) firmware versions are presently being updated and released to fix this WPA2 flaw, apply them with they are released - see https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/228519/. AP firmware patches are often missed, as routers updates tend not to be applied automatically.