WPA TKIP WiFi Security Crackable in 1 Minute: BUT, DO NOT PANIC

I get really irritated by sensationalistic scare headlines like this one…

New attack cracks common Wi-Fi encryption in a minute

And, based on what I read in the article (which is completely factual to my understanding), I’m going to guess the article’s author didn’t write the article’s headline.

Here’s the thing, as the article clearly states, this particular crack to an old WiFi encryption late last Fall 2008. The news here is that it can now be done faster. But, here’s the good news, you are probably safe if you use a reasonably modern WiFi Access Point that supports WPA2 And, if you have a WiFi AP that only is only certified for WPA (no “2″), check if you can change from the TKIP to AES protocol and all should be well.

If you are interested in the gory technical details of the WPA TKIP hack, I strongly recommend listening to or reading the transcription for this Security Now podcast from November 13, 2008…

The TKIP Hack Episode 170

Steve Gibson gives an excellent overview of the whole wireless LAN security alphabet soup. You should have a good idea of what is what when you hear and read about WEP, WPA, WPA2, TKIP, AES and CCMP after listening to this podcast.

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