If you are using wireless in your home or business, ask about what type of encryption is being used. You might say, “It is none of my concern” and you would be wrong. Is your personal information, privacy, bank account information, social security number and your very identity your concern? Of course it is.

104 bit WEP key’s are breakable with 50% certainty after obtaining just 40,000 packets in less than one minute. It takes only slightly more time to break 256 bit WEP encryption.

What this means for those of you that have wireless access in your home or business, is that an attacker can determine your wireless access key in minutes if you are using WEP encryption. If you are not sure what type of encryption is being used, you may not be using encryption at all.

One minute. Little more than that is all someone needs to determine your credit card number. Trust me, you will never know it happened until you’re broke.

Essentially, encryption requires anyone that wants to view wireless data to provide a password (or “key”). If you are not using encryption, the data going ‘across your wireless network’ might as well be clear text (and may be). When I say ‘across your wireless network’, what I actually mean is that everything you do is broadcasted three hundred and sixty degrees in all directions for hundreds of feet and anyone within range can access that data as if it were a street sign. That is without ever entering your home or property.

If you’re wondering what you should do about it, switch to WPA1 or even better, WPA2 encrpytion. If your access point or router does not support it, buy one that does or find out how to update the firmware for WPA support.

WEP can still serve the purpose of deterring “accidental” access or annoying neighbors looking to freeload your Internet access, but lax security is no security.

As always, remember to disable SSID broadcasting so your wireless network is not broadcasting it’s availability, change those default passwords and enable WEP, WPA1 or WPA2.

Related Article: Breaking 104 bit WEP in less than 60 seconds (PDF)