Japanese break wi-fi security in 60 seconds

From TG Daily -

Two scientists took just sixty seconds to break the WPA (Wifi Protected Access) encryption used in wireless routers - a time considerable less than the previous record of 15 minutes. The two - Toshihiro Ohigashi of Hiroshima University and Masakatu Morii of Kobe University will discuss their findings in a Sept 25 conference in Hiroshima.

Their hack does not give total control but enables reading and spoofing data packets. More importantly the ease with which the WPA Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) encryption was broken suggests serious security problems. Anyone concerned with security should therefore consider the newer and more secure WPA2 with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption which remains safe from attack - at least for now.

Wireless Security on the Go

The Asus Eee PC being the mobile Internet device that it is, users might want to read the primer "Wireless Security on the Go" from Extremetech.

It covers from physical security, data theft, and network security. In short, just about everything.

Actually for physical security most of the tips are quite obvious, like not leaving your notebook alone in a public place or using the Kensington lock to lock down your notebook. Or not leaving your notebook sitting on the desk in your hotel room. Still I am amazed at how many people don't follow these simple tips.

For data security, the gist is to basically password protect everything, especially if your data is sensitive or confidential. You can enable your notebook's BIOS password option (DON'T LOSE THE PASSWORD) or password protect the data files themselves. Another option is to store to your data in a encrypted USB flash drive.

For network security, install a personal firewall and an antivirus program and always update them. In public places, make sure the network you connect to is legit and turn off all file sharing.

There are lots of other useful tips in the article, which I highly recommend. Do yourself a favor and read it here.