Then new Wi-Fi security vulnerabilities might affect iOS, Android, and Linux-powered devices. Here’s how you can protect your network.
Researchers have discovered a new Wi-Fi exploit that allows attackers to hijack network traffic on iOS, Linux, and Android devices. This flaw is in the basic design of the IEEE 802.11 WiFi standard, which is used by most WiFi networks in the world.
New exploits use the power-saving features of cell towers to affect networks like hotspots, allowing attacks to bypass Wi-Fi encryption and intercept network traffic. For the attack to be successful, the attacker would have to forcibly disconnect the user’s device before connecting it to the network.
It also needs to spoof the target device’s MAC address, use the credentials to connect to the network, and get a response. Once this is done, bad guys will be able to access her data over the network in plain text or unencrypted form. Research suggests that it can still be used to perform “context override attacks”, attacks that prevent clients from attacking each other.
Public hotspots protected by Passpoint are often easily attacked in this way, and criminals use it to authenticate a user with her SIM card in a mobile phone. Users who use her WPA2 or WPA3 router on their home network and have the client isolation feature enabled are also at risk. How can I protect myself?
Anyone interested in knowing if a new exploit affects their Wi-Fi network can download an open source program called MacStealer. Published by the researchers themselves, it lets users know if their network is vulnerable to attack. Although Cisco states that a securely configured network is not at risk, Cisco recommends that network administrators use policy enforcement mechanisms and implement transport layer security to encrypt data. I’m here.
If you’re on her Wi-Fi network at home, you can take advantage of the MAC address randomization feature already available on most devices. Provides an extra layer of security by applying a randomized MAC address, which is essentially a device-unique 12-digit number. For starters, a MAC address is a number that helps identify devices connected to a network.
Enabling MAC address randomization helps mask the original MAC address on the network, making it a little more difficult for an attacker to launch a successful attack. This is not a foolproof solution as it can be disabled by network providers, but researchers say patching the exploit is currently the best course of action.
To enable MAC address randomization, go to your router settings and enable the feature from there. Features vary by Wi-Fi router model and manufacturer, so you may need to look up your router’s model number and settings online.