It became news on Monday 16th October, after a group of Researchers at KU Leuven. A University in Belgium discovered a way for an attacker to read sensitive information that is sent over a Wi-Fi network using WPA2. The discovery has made some information security expect to tag the day as a “Black Monday”. This vulnerability affects absolutely every device using WPA2 connection. Be it a Mac, Windows, iOS, Android or Linux, they're all prone to KRACK. With this vulnerability, an attacker can decrypt and view information that is sent over a proposed secured Wi-Fi network.

The Wi-Fi vulnerability is named “KRACK”, which is short for Key Re-installation Attacks. Below is a detailed understanding of this vulnerability and what you can do to protect your device.

The WPA2 Wi-Fi network.


The WPA2 is an acronym of Wi-Fi Protected Access 2. And it’s currently the industry standard that secures all modern protected Wi-Fi networks to thwart eavesdroppers. It has been the secure option for most devices that use the Wi-Fi network since 2004.

Which devices are prone to KRACK Attack?

Virtually every device using the WPA2 security protocol is prone to KRACK. Be it Android, Linux, Apple, Microsoft Windows etc. Also, the list of affected vendors is enormous. And vendors including Cisco, Amazon, Netgear and a host of others who are scrambling to release patches to fix this issue. Currently, Microsoft has successfully fixed the problem for its customers running supported versions of Windows. Also, Google has promised a fix for its affected Android’s devices in the coming weeks.

What type of information can be compromised by KRACK?

Anything that can be access and sent over the WPA2 network connection is at risk of being hacked. Although, an attacker needs to be physically in range of a particular Wi-Fi network to carry out the assault. This might pose a limitation, but, having overcome the setback. He can do a whole lot, such as stealing credit card numbers, passwords, chat messages, emails, photos, videos and more. It also may be possible for him to inject malicious information into the Wi-Fi network. This could include malware, viruses and Trojans.

What to do about KRACK Vulnerability.

This vulnerability affects every device you own that uses Wi-Fi. If your device uses public Wi-Fi, you are at higher risk. The vendors that make your products are working on patches which they will release in the coming days. Once patches are released, you will need to update your devices and hardware. The good news is that, this vulnerability does not require you to replace any hardware. It's fixable through a software update.

How to Stay on Top of your device Updates.

Your device will prompt you when an important security update is available. Many may update automatically. A lot of other devices also provide an option to manually check for updates. We recommend you check periodically this week so that you catch any updates as soon as they are released.

Source: http://techablaze.com/blog/your-wi-fi-is-vulnerable-to-krack/