So Much For WPA

WPA encryption cracked in one minute

Thu Aug 27, 2009 1:43PM EDT

The second generation of Wi-Fi security systems has now been broken as badly as its notoriously insecure predecessor: Japanese researchers say they can crack WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), the successor to the old-school WEP, inside of a minute's time spent eavesdropping on a wireless network.

Details on the mechanics of the attack are set to be announced next month at a computer conference, but it's tentatively described as taking to "a new level" the previous method by which WPA had been roughly compromised, adapting previously theoretical holes in the WPA system and turning them into practical attack techniques.

The previous method of attacking WPA devices took up to 15 minutes to be successful, and didn't always work. The new method is said to work on far more devices and, obviously, much more quickly. However, as with the old attack, the new one only works on WPA devices that use the TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) algorithm, which is a setting in your router and device setup.

WPA devices that use the newer AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) algorithm, plus devices that use WPA2 -- the third generation of wireless security standards -- are still safe for now.

However, this does mean that it won't be long before this attack technique trickles out into software that malicious hackers can use to invade WPA networks. With access to your wireless network, a hacker can potentially eavesdrop on any traffic sent, access shared folders on computers attached to the network, and of course send and receive data (like illegal file sharing or even child pornography) which could then be blamed on you.

To protect yourself, upgrade the security settings on your devices to WPA2 if they all support the standard. Alternately, you can upgrade any WPA device from TKIP security to AES. Check in your router administration console and on your computer for and where how to do this.

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Going Green: Download in Sleep Mode

Somniloquy Lets Your Computer Download Files In Its Sleep

With the "green" movement now invading the technosphere, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with this - a way to let your computer keep downloading files or utilizing VoIP while in sleep mode to conserve electricity.
From Gizmodo:

Usually, when us modern, sensitive, environmentally-conscious types leave the computer on all night, it's because we're downloading something sizable. But what if our computers could handle that task while in sleep mode, thus saving energy?

Computer scientists at UC San Diego along with Microsoft Research have developed this USB device they dub the Somniloquy, which appropriately enough means "talking in one's sleep." The dongle lets you keep your computer in sleep mode, which saves a ton of energy, while remaining seemingly active on the network. So your computer will be in sleep mode, but you'll still be able to download files or receive IM or VoIP messages, and if an action that requires your computer's full attention does occur, Somniloquy will gently rouse it from its slumber.

The device is actually a very low-power computer, complete with OS and flash memory, and essentially takes over as the computer's presence on the network while the actual computer is asleep. It consumes somewhere between 11 and 24 times less power than a full computer, which makes for some impressive energy savings. The creators are hoping the tech will be incorporated into future network cards so computers have this functionality out of the box. You know what? We're hoping that, too.

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