WEP: Dead Again, Part 1

This article is the first of a two-part series that looks at the new generation of WEP cracking tools for WiFi networks, which offer dramatically faster speeds for penetration testers over the previous generation of tools. In many cases, a WEP key can be determined in seconds or minutes. Part one, below, compares the latest KoreK based tools that perform passive statistical analysis and brute-force cracking on a sample of collected WEP traffic. Next time, in part two, we'll look at active attack vectors, including a method to dramatically increase the rate of packet collection to make statistical attacks even more potent. Many security folks and even more wireless folks these days are saying that WEP isn't all that bad. They say that if you use modern equipment that filters weak Initial Vectors (IVs) and change your keys frequently (or at least once in a while), nobody will ever crack your WEP. Sure, maybe some next-generation WEP attacks will arise one day that will change everything, but WEP is okay today for all but the most sensitive networks. Well, that next-generation is already here, heralded by highly functional tools that make WEP look weaker than Barney Fife on guard duty, sleeping on the job.