Crack breaks WPA-encrypted Wi-Fi in 1 minute
updated 10:45 pm EDT, Thu August 27, 2009
WPA 1 Minute Hack
Japanese researchers today revealed that they have developed a crack that can break WPA (Wireless Protected Access) encryption on a Wi-Fi network within a minute. Kobe University's Masakatu Morii and Hiroshima University's Toshihiro Ohigashi together developed a practical attack that exploits a vulnerability in the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol, or TKIP, that underlines WPA. While not providing full details of the attack for security reasons, the new approach is much faster than a previous technique that took between 12 and 15 minutes to expose the network.
The creators of the technique stressed that it won't work with WPA2, the second-generation wireless encryption method that uses the much toucher Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) at its root. AES is frequently used for safeguarding permanent storage, such as on some flash drives and in Apple's FileVault for Mac OS X. Virtually all routers and end devices that support 802.11g and 802.11n also support WPA2.
More details should become public at a Hiroshima conference on September 25th. There are no indications of a likely patch for routers or other Wi-Fi equipment.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: May 2001
So what!
Most users are clueless and don't have ANY wireless encryption turned on in the first place. It's too much for their feeble minds to comprehend.