WiFi Users Beware: KRACK Hack Can Make Your Devices Vulnerable

WJCT News | By Cyd Hoskinson

Published October 18, 2017 at 4:59 PM EDT

The WPA2 security protocol used by most Wi-Fi routers is vulnerable to KRACK.

It’s called KRACK, which is short for Key Reinstallation Attack, and it can leave your Wi-Fi enabled devices susceptible to a hacker's attack.

“So basically it just tunes in and starts listening to what you’re transmitting across the network,” said First Coast Connect tech contributor Ray Hollister.

The hack exploits weaknesses in WPA2, which is a security protocol used by most Wi-Fi routers. When KRACK is installed on a nearby laptop a hacker can see information presumed to be safely encrypted over Wi-Fi.

According to Hollister, a hacker has to be in the immediate vicinity of someone using a Wi-Fi network in order to launch an attack.

“Anything you’re transmitting unsecured, like, you know, where you’re accessing a website, maybe even sending emails if you’re not doing it on a secured network, it can listen to it and gather that information,” said Hollister.

Since changing a password offers no protection against this threat, Holister recommends running all recommended security updates and pressuring the makers of smart devices like televisions, refrigerators and thermostats to beef-up their security protections as well.

More information about the vulnerability is available at .

Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 or on Twitter @cydwjctnews.