Wi-Fi is getting a security update that'll help prevent hackers from spying on your broadband connections.
The new security protocol is called WPA3, and will be widely adopted across the tech industry in the coming years, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the standards body which made the announcement on Monday.
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It may seem counterintuitive, but you can actually crack a Wi-Fi password offline. All you have to do is capture a single password exchange with the network. You can then take that data and proceed to brute-force attack it with unlimited password attempts, with no need for a live connection.
Wi-Fi routers with easily guessable passwords can be particularly vulnerable to this threat. Once logged on, a hacker can potentially spy on any unencrypted data transmitted over the network. Fortunately, the WPA3 protocol is resistant to offline brute-force attacks. Hackers will only be able to crack the password if they have an active connection to the Wi-Fi network.
As a result, using easy-to-remember passwords for your internet router will present less of security risk, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance.
WPA3 replaces the older security protocol for Wi-Fi, WPA2, which arrived back in 2004. Last year, security researchers discovered that WPA2 had a serious bug called KRACK that can expose the data transmitted over Wi-Fi to potential snooping. Fortunately, vendors were quick to patch the problem.
In addition to WPA3, the Wi-Fi Alliance recently rolled out two new enhancements to the wireless technology, one of which promises to secure public hotspots with VPN-like encryption. Users who sign on to these upgraded Wi-Fi hotspots will do so over an individual encrypted connection, preventing potential snooping.
The other enhancement is designed to make it easier for IoT devices to connect to a Wi-FI network. All you'll have to do is scan the IoT device's QR code with a smartphone and it'll automatically connect to the local network.
When these features become avaliable to consumers will be up to vendors. However, the Wi-Fi Alliance said the WPA3 protocol is expected to gain wide adoption in late 2019. Leading tech companies including Apple, Intel, and Samsung are all members of the alliance.