Poor Wi-Fi drivers can expose laptops

by admin June 24, 2006 at 9:48 am

Wi-Fi devices are shipping with weaknesses which hackers are all too happy to take advantage of, security researchers have warned

Two leading security researchers have warned that Wi-Fi equipment developed without due care can be inherently insecure allowing hackers to use flaws in device drivers to take control of laptops.

David Maynor of Internet Security Systems and Jon Ellch, a student at the US Naval postgraduate school in Monterey, plan to demonstrate the problem by seizing control of a laptop through its wireless device driver at the Black Hat USA 2006 conference in Las Vegas next month.

Wireless device drivers are developed without proper attention to security, and new features are rushed in for competitive reasons, so the code is often buggy and insecure, the pair claim.

Full article: ZDNet UK