Wi-Fi’s a godsend for us data-deprived consumers. It allows us to surf the net, play online games and download songs without having to worry about bursting limited data plans.

But what if I tell you that it could be dangerous as well?

Major security flaws in Wi-Fi devices have been discovered, that possibly puts billions at risk of privacy infringement. Worst part? Almost every Internet user in Singapore is at risk.

The Singapore Computer Emergency Response Team (SingCert), a unit of Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency (CSA), have issued an alert regarding the matter. “These vulnerabilities may affect the data confidentiality of users’ Wi-Fi connectivity in homes and offices.”

They also added that the flaw affects nearly every device that uses Wi-Fi, including routers, smartphones, computers and surveillance cameras.

“The attacker can exploit the vulnerabilities to monitor, inject and manipulate users’ network traffic.”

Billions remain unpatched

The alert comes after the United States Homeland Security’s cyber-emergency unit US-Cert‘s confirmation of the flaw.

According to online reports, the US Authority had silently warned vendors of the problem two months ago, so that vendors could arrange for the distribution of patches before the problem is publicized.

While many have been fixed, billions of devices remain unpatched.

KRACK

The design flaw goes by the name of KRACK (Key Reinstallation Attack), and it exposes the supposed first critical vulnerabilities in WPA2 (a routine authentication method you & I are familiar with).

The 14-year-old protocol links the Wi-Fi connection between a router and a computer or Internet device.

What makes KRACK so lethal is the fact that it’s a design flaw; it’s harder to fix than a simple software bug.

“That’s also why KRACK is so pervasive across chips and platforms, affecting many manufacturers worldwide,” the vice president of Security Technology at US based software engineering firm Synopsis, Dr Gary McGraw, said.

Exactly how can a Hacker work with the flaw?

According to Mr Mathy Vanhoef, a researcher in Belgium’s University of Leuven who discovered the flaw, a hacker could “hijack unencrypted conversations and exchanges over the Wi-Fi connection.”

In other words, hackers could get a hold of that d*** pic you sent on Whatsapp.

Oh, the horror.

Mr Mathy had this to add.

“The weaknesses are in the Wi-Fi standard itself, and not in individual products or implementations. Therefore, any correct implementation of WPA2 is likely affected. To prevent the attack, users must update affected products as soon as security updates become available.”

However, some security experts have revealed that once your device is patched, it should provide enough protection, even if the router isn’t patched.

What can users do, apart from waiting?

Mr Jason Kong, co-founder of Singapore-based network security firm Toffs Technologies, advised users to opt for virtual private network services.

“For peace of mind, users should also subscribe to virtual private network services, available online or from ISPs.”

Wi-Fi Alert

Theoretically, what can we do?

We can’t possibly wait for the whole issue to be resolved. That could take days, weeks, or even months. Are we expected to camp out with our ‘generous’ data plans, while the tech companies do their thing?

Yet, if we venture with the local Wi-Fi network in town, we might run a risk of having our privacy peeped at by some crazed guy.

So how?

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This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

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