Security is a major concern for every one of us and a must when it comes to WiFi security. After nearly 14 years WiFi security is finally getting an upgrade. The Wi-Fi Alliance has officially launched WPA3. Labeled as the next generation standard WPA3 promises to take care of many vulnerabilities that have persisted in wireless networking.
What is WPA3?
WPA(Wi-Fi Protected Access) is a standard used to secure your Wi-Fi. Till now we have been using the WPA2 standard as this was the only strong protection available. Until recently WPA2 was compromised using a key installation attack or KRACK. Though still it is widely used and is more secure than the earlier standards like WPA and prior to that WEP.
WPA2 uses a strong encryption that keeps your password and all communications secure from hackers. It basically governs what happens when you connect to a closed Wi-Fi network.
The WPA2 comes with a secure four-way handshake between the access point and potential client, which allows each device to confirm the password and encryption key without ever actually disclosing the key. This security feature has some effect on the performance of the network but is completely acceptable in comparison to the security boost it provides.
Why is WPA3 better?
WPA3 is the latest standard which introduces four key components that were not present in WPA2. All devices having these key components will be marked as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ WPA3™”.
These components are as follows:
Brute Force Protection: There were vulnerabilities in the WPA2 handshake procedure which came to light with the KRACK exploit. There has been a new handshake procedure defined in WPA3 standard which will deliver a robust protection even to users tend to use passwords which are less complex. As a result of this hackers won’t be able to guess password over and over, as WPA3 is protected against brute-force dictionary attacks.
Securing IoT: IoT devices always seem to be vulnerable to security breach due to lack of security features or rather inadequate security feature. WPA3 will certainly fulfill the need of securing IoT devices with its additional security features.
In case of many IoT devices, you are not able to reset the password. They come without a
graphical user interface making it almost impossible to reset the password. The threat is major when many IoT devices are using the same password. Whereas in case of WPA3 security researchers from the University of Southampton have been able to update IoT device security by configuring them with a smartphone.
Public Network Privacy: Public Wi-Fi connections are always less secure than your home connection. The existing WPA2 standards come with limitations and any ordinary person cant be a network security buffs. The latest WPA3 standard takes care of this as everytime you connect to a public wireless access point your traffic will be encrypted regardless of you entering your password or not. This certainly is a step forward for public Wi-Fi security and will strengthen user privacy in open networks through individualized data encryption.
Stronger Encryption: WPA3 comes with a 192-bit encryption and is aligned with the “Commercial National Security Algorithm Suite from the Committee on National Security Systems.” This is a serious boost towards consumer security.
WPA3 certainly with all these features proves to be secure. A good news for the tech industry at large. Now you can use any devices be it a router or a smartphone without a fear of being compromised as they will be reasonably well-protected against attacks.
Also Read: Beware Of Smartphone Hackers Lurking In Public Charging Ports
