This not only is bad for your tablet and cell, but really bad for your smart bulbs, smart locks, garage door opener, etc.
Yikes. There are experts here on this type of stuff, hopefully they can convince us not to move to a cave.
Yikes. There are experts here on this type of stuff, hopefully they can convince us not to move to a cave.
https://www.engadget.com/2017/10/16/wifi-vulnerability-krack-attack/Researchers have discovered a key flaw in the WPA2 WiFi encryption protocol that could allow hackers to intercept your credit card numbers, passwords, photos and other sensitive information. The flaws, dubbed "Key Reinstallation Attacks," or "Krack Attacks," are in the WiFi standard and not specific products. That means that just about every router, smartphone and PC out there could be impacted, though attacks against Linux and Android 6.0 or greater devices may be "particularly devastating," according to KU Leuven University's Mathy Vanhoef and Frank Piessens, who found the flaw.
Here's how it works. Attackers find a vulnerable WPA2 network, then make a carbon copy of it and impersonate the MAC address, then change the WiFi channel. This new, fake network acts as a "man in the middle," so when a device attempts to connect to the original network, it can be forced to bypass it and connect to the rogue one.
Normally, WPA2 encryption requires a unique key to encrypt each block of plain text. However, the hack described in the Krack Attack paper forces certain implementations of WPA2 to reuse the same key combination multiple times.