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According to a report recently published by ZDNet just this week, it appears that researchers have discovered a bug within the WPA2 security protocol utilized in just about every Wi-Fi enabled gadget today, including computers, routers, and even mobile devices. The flaw now goes by the nickname KRACK (which is short for Key Reinstallation Attack) and was reportedly uncovered by Mathy Vanhoef, a computer security academic.
The bug’s existence is critical because it could be exploited by hackers especially in terms of spying on whatever goes through the Wi-Fi network, and this could include private data. It goes without saying that consumers would be impacted by the weakness in the security protocol. Businesses, however, would undoubtedly be affected more, simply because a great number of them are already using wireless point of sale (POS) machines for nearly every business transaction.
Mobile and data security continue to be hot topics these past few months, as news after news of breaches and potential risks hit the interwebs. As recently as five months ago, the Wannacry ransomware attack dominated headlines across the globe. Last September, the private information of some 145 million customers based in the United States were compromised when credit reporting agency Equifax got hacked. And who can forget what happened to Yahoo?
As for the KRACK flaw, the main concern is that hackers could use the bug in order to decrypt network traffic, hijack Wi-Fi connections, and even throw in content onto the network. They can do this by disguising as another user, particularly one that is authorized to gain access to the Wi-Fi network.
Is anybody already taking action in order to defend against the KRACK bug? Thankfully, some of the biggest names in tech are already responding. Google has officially revealed that it is now working to fix Android powered mobile devices that are affected by the security flaw. According to the tech giant, it should be able to roll out patches for Android devices in the next few weeks.
Similarly, Apple is already busy developing a fix, and as a matter of fact, that fix is now in beta. The iPhone maker further stated that the fix should be deployed soon through a software update in the coming weeks. The software update will cover Apple devices running on iOS, MacOS, WatchOS, and TVOS platforms.
As for owners of Wi-Fi devices, they will need to update their gadgets as soon as updates are made available. It would also be a wise decision to update their router’s firmware.
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