Krackattack Wifi Vulnerability

Krackattack Wifi Vulnerability 

As you may have seen, a Security vulnerability has been identified in how Wi-Fi connections work. This is important, as many of us use Wi-Fi networks to access work information, and we can no longer be sure that this information will remain confidential. Below, we provide some more details about the vulnerability and what we all need to do to protect ourselves against it.   

What is Krackattack? 

Krackattack is the name of the Wi-Fi vulnerability identified in the WPA2 wireless protocol. This protocol is used to secure the vast majority of Wi-Fi connections.   The vulnerability lies in how a mobile device (laptop, tablet or phone) connects to a wireless network device (often called a router or access point), potentially allowing an attacker to sit in the middle of the connection and read the information sent. This means that when you access information on a wireless network, an attacker may be able to see and steal it. 

This vulnerability will affect almost all wireless networks and devices that connect to them. The best way to defend against this is to update your laptops, tablets, mobile phones or other mobile devices as vendors are releasing updates that fix the issue. Once your mobile device has been updated, you will no longer be at risk of this vulnerability and will be safe to access information on that device on any Wi-Fi connection.  

Smartdesc Managed Security Service 

At Smartdesc, we proactively identify vendor updates, and when you have a Managed Security Service, we can install them on the devices we manage for you. If you don’t have a Managed Security Service with Smartdesc, we hope this post helps you secure your devices. As ever, we will support you with any questions you have by contacting our Service Desk.   

What should everyone be doing? 

We should all try to make sure people know it is really important to update their devices. Many of our colleagues access work information on personal devices, and when they do so on a Wi-Fi network, there is a risk that the information they access will not remain confidential unless their device is up to date. Most vendors have now released updates, including Android, Microsoft and Apple, so anyone with one of these devices can now run an update to secure the device.