This morning we ran a post about the KRACK vulnerability, which allows a malicious hacker to bypass WPA2 encryption on Wi-Fi networks and making a user’s data easy to view. At the time, we hadn’t heard how Apple was going to respond. Now word is out that Apple has already patched those vulnerabilities in beta versions of iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS that should go live soon.
Apple website iMore‘s Rene Ritchie got the word direct from Apple (it must be nice to have access to the company instead of being ignored by them…) that the patches will be rolled out to consumers in the near future.
It’s unlikely that any firmware updates will be made to the company’s AirPort Wi-Fi access points since fixing the problem on the client side ensures that hackers will not be able to use KRACK attacks to gain access to such important information as user names, passwords, credit card numbers, personal photos, and so on.
The recommendation for how to proceed before the updates are released to the public? Avoid public Wi-Fi networks, use a wired connection if possible, and use a virtual private network (VPN) to provide an extra layer of encryption. Apple World Today currently has a deal on one such VPN, with a lifetime of VPN One Click available for just $29.99.
