Don't agree at all. While I am not really concerned about it, I am happy that there are "white hats" out there looking for security holes. I'd rather they find them than "black hats." It will only make the OS even more secure in the long run.
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Researchers Crack iOS-Generated Hotspot Passwords in 50 Seconds
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Don't agree at all. While I am not really concerned about it, I am happy that there are "white hats" out there looking for security holes. I'd rather they find them than "black hats." It will only make the OS even more secure in the long run.
Misleading...
Taking 50 seconds to find the known key is one thing. That's great. But this makes it seem like they actually connected to the phone to test each attempt. That would take forever.
Taking 50 seconds to find the known key is one thing. That's great. But this makes it seem like they actually connected to the phone to test each attempt. That would take forever.
Anyone with data worth protecting would chose their own password. I doubt the guy next to you at Starbucks is gonna bust out a cluster of PC's just for some free wifi.
But, unfortunately, not entirely true: http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/05/how-crackers-make-minced-meat-out-of-your-passwords/
You said it all. What a load of utter irrelevant nonsense this 'research' claim is.
Just on the outside chance you're serious: excellent policy!
Problem (if there really was one to begin with) solved!
So I don't quite understand...I don't think the device will be able to receive and process 50,000 login attempts in under 50 seconds - and I would hope that it would just eventually block the mac address altogether after a few successive failed attempts.
Is this just checking the password string to the generated one? That is only really relevant if you already know the password in the first place - which means not relevant at all.
Is this just checking the password string to the generated one? That is only really relevant if you already know the password in the first place - which means not relevant at all.
wrong: hotspot is not something u turn on all the time, but rather something u turn on only when you are using it, then off quickly when done. the design criterion is for function, NOT security. security is of low priority because there is very low risk that someone is following you around and stealing your bandwidth because you can easily detect that. however, using very simple phrase as password simply deter 99.99% of people who are looking for "free wifi" yet allow friends and family to get on your hotspot easily. it's much easier to tell your friend your password is "elephant17" than "iZX82kAj01" right?
people love to attack apple and interpret everything they do as sloppy/malicious/negligent but fail to see that their own perspective is tainted by their bitter souls, when apple clearly had a good intention for using easy-to-share password for their hotspot....
It is pretty silly, this bit of reporting. Though I will be watching out for a couple of GPU's and mobile power generator when I'm in the park using my hotspot from now on,
Honestly, I think this security flaw is getting blown out of proportion. How many of us carry around a big computer around and know how to reprogram our GPUs to try to hack into people's iPhones?!
At some point we have to balance between security and portability, at least for some time. The point a lighter encryption is to reduce the power used in a device. Unless we can develop an encryption algorithm that is both energy efficient and powerful is still a few generations away. I mean AES 256 and AES 512 still is too power draining even for desktop computers let alone our measly iPhone which we are still trying to squeeze out a full day on one charge.
At some point we have to balance between security and portability, at least for some time. The point a lighter encryption is to reduce the power used in a device. Unless we can develop an encryption algorithm that is both energy efficient and powerful is still a few generations away. I mean AES 256 and AES 512 still is too power draining even for desktop computers let alone our measly iPhone which we are still trying to squeeze out a full day on one charge.
So they hacked it in 50 seconds, and then decided to publish a 10 page PDF document? Where's the time-savings in that?
They don't.
And really what is this cracking. The devices or just he wifi connection. It tells you the whole time how many devices are connected so if you see someone slip in, change the password or turn off the service.
Please enlighten us, what's "not entirely true"?
Reducing the number of words in your dictionary does not make the correcthorsebatterystaple approach any weaker, you are just testing a lower amount of the possible keys. It is faster, of course, but you reduce the likelihood of finding the correct key at all.
That may be true if this was actually a "security hole", but it's not. This information is no different than pointing out vulnerability to a brut-force attack. First of all, these reports are completely unrealistic because they never point out the real world likelihood of this even being possible. The possibility that someone is going to have the capable hardware, technical skill, knowledge of the vulnerable network, be within range of one of these networks (which is very small with an iOS device), and have the intent to do so is VERY, VERY small. It really just scares people that are uneducated on the topic in to thinking that there is some real security risk in this function in iOS, which there is not.
not sure what the fuss is, hotspots are temporary, if someone was tailing me with a big gaming rig strapped to his back I might be concerned...
When at my local Starbucks I often see tables filled with these setups...
"so with GPU cluster of four AMD Radeon HD 7970s"
And with this kind of rig, they'd better off trying to hack the cash registers or better yet, the ATM!
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So what happens if this password is cracked? Someone is using your 3G connection, at your expense. You can shut it off at any moment. Anything seriously needing security needs to be encrypted anyway, and then it doesn't matter if anyone is on your network.
There are plenty of people whose home network doesn't have a password, and there have been stories of people buying a router and paying for internet access but by mistake using their neighbour's network.
Actually, generating passwords is pretty easy.
Generating good, usable passwords on the other hand depends on the definitions of good and usable. How easy should the key be to type? How hard should it be to crack?
Anyways, if you rely on testing the function to see if it is random enough, you most likely already lost. Brute force won't get you very far unless you start with some brain activity first...
Of course it's a real risk. Is it a high risk? No. It's a very minimal risk (which is why I don't worry about it). But the fact is that the automated password Apple supplies is not nearly as secure as it should be, and the average user is not going to know that. All that Apple needs to do is tweak their algorithm to make the system provide a more robust password. These researchers directed a light at a risk, and that is helpful to the overall security of devices.
Remember, there was a time when WEP was considered secure, because so few people knew how to, or had the tools to crack it.
