The world’s standard for wifi encryption is now hackable.
What steps to take now must be taken with a grain of salt, since nobody really knows the next move of many hackers. Do they further delve into the opportunity this vulnerability has created, or do they ride the thrill of victory and springboard to their next “white whale” of encryption?
As most are aware, WPA2 is the standard for wifi in the home and business and WPA3 isn’t quite created yet; but necessity is the mother of all invention. In the meantime, what steps can you, as a business owner, take to protect your data from any nearby hackers awaiting your network’s next mis-step?
Balance the risk with the benefit: yes it’s WPA2 is hackable… but you have to be close. So close, in fact, that many wifi signals aren’t in any danger since they may not be strong enough to emit far, especially when blocked by a crowd of signals, metal, or concrete walls.
4 Things to Know and Do to Protect From the WPA2 Vulnerability:
- Reduce company reliance on wifi. Business transactions happening over wifi can now be seen. The simplest course of action is to simply ensure any business is done strictly on a wired connection. Don’t be lazy, plug yourself in for security and use wifi as a convenience.
- Train your team. Taking precautions as a business owner doesn’t mean anything until your full team is aware and educated on the issues around data security. Phishing and other scams rely solely on the fact that ultimately, someone is going to make a mistake at some point. Ensure your team know the risks around using wifi for business transactions.
- If you are on a website with a lock symbol, in your bank account for example, you are essentially still secure as the hacker would be able to see that you are visiting your bank but they would have to further hack the bank’s own encryption.
- Remember, this vulnerability is only at risk of the patient and focused hacker. Someone would need to be very close to catch your wifi signal and is specifically looking for information to pass through. The threats are hackers outside your warehouse, inside your office building or simply near enough to catch your signal.
Businesses will continue to be targeted by hackers, every vulnerability will be exploited and it’s up to business owners to keep up to date on these threats, or ensure someone on their team does so. Failing that, close relationships with technology providers and managers can help owners keep on top of, and ahead of, data security threats to their business.
