Posted by: Patrick McGarrigle published: February 28, 2014. Tags: University of Liverpool, WiFi
Researchers claim to have found a weakness in WiFi networks
WiFi networks can be infected by a virus that can spread through the populated areas such as the common cold, according to researchers at the University of Liverpool.
The members of the school of computer science and electrical and electronic engineering designed a virus that could spread rapidly among farms and houses, attacking the point to which access is not protected by encryption and password.
The team then simulated a virus attack ' Chameleon ' over London and Belfast, finding that he acted like a virus into the air in the areas which had access points were connected within a radius of 10-50 meters.
"While many sufficient access points are encrypted and password protected, the virus simply passed to find ones that were not heavily protected including free WiFi access points in places such as airports and coffee shops," said Alan Marshall, Professor of network security (pictured).
The researchers will now be able to use data from the study to detect when an attack is likely.
Researchers claim to have found a weakness in WiFi networks
WiFi networks can be infected by a virus that can spread through the populated areas such as the common cold, according to researchers at the University of Liverpool.
The members of the school of computer science and electrical and electronic engineering designed a virus that could spread rapidly among farms and houses, attacking the point to which access is not protected by encryption and password.
The team then simulated a virus attack ' Chameleon ' over London and Belfast, finding that he acted like a virus into the air in the areas which had access points were connected within a radius of 10-50 meters.
"While many sufficient access points are encrypted and password protected, the virus simply passed to find ones that were not heavily protected including free WiFi access points in places such as airports and coffee shops," said Alan Marshall, Professor of network security (pictured).
The researchers will now be able to use data from the study to detect when an attack is likely.
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