Real hackers can break into any system they want,it only depents on how much time it going to take.
LAS VEGAS--A new way to attack wireless networks underscores the lack of security for PC owners using the airwaves to connect their computers, said security experts speaking at the Black Hat Briefings conference. On Thursday, Tim Newsham, a researcher for security firm @Stake, presented the details of weaknesses in the password system of wireless networks that could lead to a break in security in less than 30 seconds. The flaw is the third to be uncovered in the so-called Wired Equivalent Privacy, or WEP, protocol that supposedly secures wireless networks. |
Specifically, wireless systems that rely on a 64-bit key--used in many homes and earlier hardware--can be broken in less than a minute, letting the attacker see the data beamed across the networks.
Newer 128-bit wireless LAN (local area network) cards are fairly strong. But poorly chosen passwords can still be cracked with an old technique known as a dictionary attack: Using a list of common passwords and a dictionary of words, the potential intruder can try various combinations until the password is broken.
Earlier at the Black Hat conference, Ian Goldberg, chief scientist for private network seller Zero Knowledge Systems, presented details on a variety of techniques for cracking the encryption of wireless networks.
"The point of a cryptographics protocol is to be able to communicate securely over an insecure medium," he said.
Using Goldberg's techniques, which he developed while earning a doctorate at the University of California at Berkeley, data on wireless networks can be modified, added or, in some cases, decrypted.
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Source: CNet
