Wi-Fi ‘virus’ could be used to attack wireless access points

Researchers from the University of Liverpool have demonstrated that a computer virus can spread through Wi-Fi access points between homes and businesses just like the common cold spreads from one human to another. The researchers have performed an experiment in a laboratory setting with the aid of the Chameleon virus, which uses a WLAN attack technique to infect access points and collect the credentials of all Wi-Fi users who connect to it. Then, it seeks out other access points, connects to them and infects them. The main issue highlighted by the researchers is the fact that many Wi-Fi access points are unprotected, allowing viruses like Chameleon to spread without difficulty. In their experiment, researchers simulated an attack on the cities of Belfast and London. While the virus can’t spread via access points protected by encryption and passwords, it relies on ones that are not protected, like the ones in airports and coffee shops. “WiFi connections are increasingly a target for computer hackers because of well-documented security vulnerabilities, which make it difficult to detect and defend against a virus,” said Alan Marshall, professor of Network Security at the University of Liverpool and one of the authors of the research paper. <more>