Security flaw endangers almost every WiFi device to hacking!

We have to now deal with another vulnerability, which is affecting almost everyone who uses WiFi. This openness allows hackers to have a look at everything you do online!

Researcher Mathy Vanhoef of imec-DistriNet, KU Leuven stated that he discovered a serious weakness in WPA2, a protocol that secures all modern protected WiFi networks. An attacker within range of a victim can exploit these weaknesses using key reinstallation attacks (KRACKs). Attackers can also read information that was previously assumed to be safely encrypted.

Vanhoef said, “The weaknesses are in the WiFi standard itself, and not in individual products or implementations. Therefore, any correct implementation of WPA2 is likely affected.” Users are advised to update the affected products as soon as security updates become available.

Additionally, it was found that Android, Linux, Apple, Windows, OpenBSD, MediaTek and Linksys have also been affected by some variant of the attack. He points out that the attack is not only limited to recovering login credentials (i.e. e-mail addresses and passwords). In general, any data or information that the victim transmits can be decrypted.

It is also possible to decrypt data sent towards the victim. Although websites or apps may use HTTPS as an additional layer of protection, Vanhoef warns that this extra protection can (still) be bypassed in a worrying number of situations. For example, HTTPS was previously bypassed in non-browser software, in Apple's iOS and OS X, in Android apps, in Android apps again, in banking apps, and even in VPN apps.