Wi-Fi Security to Receive New WPA3 Security Standard
Remember when that time that our most reliable wireless security standards were revealed to have a scary number of weaknesses?
Yea, me too.
‘Krack Attack’ as it was called revealed a significant weakness in the protocol’s ‘four-way handshake’ which allows devices with preshared passwords to join the network.
Well it looks like wireless security is about to get a whole lot tougher. The Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry body comprised of device makers including Apple, Microsoft, and Qualcomm announced the next generation wireless network security standard, WPA3. The new standard will replace WPA2 which has been kicking around for almost two(!) decades. The WPA2 protocol was designed to protect nearly every wireless device that’s currently in use including tablets, smart phones, and laptop computers.
One of the primary improvements we’ll be seeing in WPA3 looks to solve a common security headache; open wireless networks. You know those shady wireless networks you stumble into at the mall? The ones that are almost guaranteed to have some iffy character seeking out your credit card info? These unencrypted networks can come in handy but come with some serious dangers, allowing anyone on the network to intercept data sent from other devices.
WPA3 uses individualized data encryption, which scramble the connection between each device on the network and the wireless router, making sure that your private information is kept private.
Another major improvement in WPA3 will protect against brute force dictionary attacks, making it tougher for attackers near your network to guess some of your possible passwords, as well as blocking a potential attacker after too many incorrect password guesses.
The current security standard allows devices with a preshared password to join a network. The new standard will use a newer approach that won’t be vulnerable to dictionary attacks.
The Next Web reports that we can expect these changes in the new WPA3 protocol:
- Robust protections even when users choose passwords that fall short of typical complexity recommendations.
- A simplified process of configuring security for devices that have limited or no display interface.
- Strengthened user privacy in open networks through individualized data encryption.
- A 192-bit security suite, aligned with the Commercial National Security Algorithm (CNSA) Suite from the Committee on National Security Systems, will further protect Wi-Fi networks with higher security requirements such as those in use in government, defense, and industrial sectors.
If you’d like to read more about how to stay safe from Krack Attack, click here.