It looks as though security issues on a computer network continue to be a bane for users, especially when you have up to 1.2 billion usernames and passwords compromised in a recent hacking incident. As for folks who think that they are safe from big time hackers with their home Wi-Fi networks, you might want to think twice. Apparently, a few of the more popular home Wi-Fi routers that rely on “dumb” computer chips could actually be the doorway for hackers to steal your password – at the first attempt, no less.
According to Swiss security researcher Dominique Bongard, majority of the routers’ computer chips will rely on a “random number generator” that is meant to safeguard your password, but unfortunately, those numbers that churned out does not seem to be as “random” as intended.
In fact, some of these “random” numbers have been programmed in such a manner that it does not take too much for a hacker to determine the next numbers which the router will use. Just how bad is the situation? Apparently, the “random” number generators might actually just make use of the number “0.”
Stealing your Wi-Fi router’s password is as easy as knowing what the next number in the chain would be, although the hacker would first need to figure out the router model that you are currently using. Once your router gives up its passcode, it is a simple matter of hooking up to your network and stealing data that gets sent between connected devices and the router itself. Apparently, this weakness will only affect home routers which rely on the WPS security standard.