FCC Should Study Wi-Fi Security, Network Engineer Says

The FCC should open an inquiry into Wi-Fi security and rogue access points, after news of the KRACK vulnerability (see 1710160043), network engineer Richard Bennett blogged, referring to key reinstallation attacks. Bennett said the commission should examine whether current anti-jamming policies -- dating to a 2014 order (see 1502170026) fining Marriott for jamming guest Wi-Fi hot spots -- make sense. "The means employed also have legitimate uses; such as removing the KRACK threat against Android devices," Bennett said Tuesday. Separately, the FTC issued a warning to smartphone, laptop or IoT users connecting to Wi-Fi that their information could be at risk, blogged FTC technologist Phoebe Rouge Thursday. Because the problem is with the WPA2 encryption standard that nearly all Wi-Fi devices on the market today use to secure communications, people connecting via Wi-Fi can't be certain their information will be safe, she said. While manufacturers are moving quickly to fix the problem with security updates and patches, the agency recommends consumers take precautions and use connections other than Wi-Fi until they're certain updates have been implemented. As a general rule, it advises consumers to keep up with software updates and avoid sending secure information over unencrypted websites.