What is KRACK Hack vulnerability

What is Krack

Krack is said to be an abbreviation for Key reinstallation attack which tends to involve an attacker utilising a one-time key which has been provided to the device of a client intending to connect to Wi-Fi network.

According to KU Leuven’s Mathy Vanhoef the researcher who discovered the vulnerability, his discoveries had been reported by tech site Ars Technica recently. He states that in some of the instances, hackers tend to exploit Krack in order to inject malware like ransomware in websites.

Vanhoef, informs that on doing so, the hacker has the potential to decrypt information which has been swapped from the access point with the client device wherein the personal details such as credit card numbers, together with messages and password can be exposed. It is here that the process of the hack can take place as described on the website of Vanhoef.

This latest discovered vulnerability can permit attackers to seize sensitive data which is transmitted between Wi-Fi access point and a computer or a mobile device which can be encrypted. This error is known as Krack that affects WPA2 which is a security protocol extensively utilised in the up-to-date Wi-Fi devices.
 

Four-Way Process Handshake

 
When a device tends to connect with a protected Wi-Fi network, there is a four-way process handshake for Krack , which occurs wherein this handshake warrants that both the client and the access point have the precise login authorisations for the network.

This tends to generate a new encryption key in order to protect web traffic wherein the encryption key is installed at step three of the four-way handshake. However the access point at times tends to resend the same key if it considers that the message could have been misplaced.

 Research of Vanhoef has discovered that the attackers could force the access point in order to install the identical encryption key which the intruder could utilise to attack the encryption protocol and decrypt the data. Vanhoef cautions that any device that seems to support Wi-Fi could probably be affected by Krack though Linux-based devices together with Android devices running version 6.0 or higher of the Android operating system are likely to be in danger. Presently it would comprise of over 40% of Android devices.

 

Update Wi-Fi Devices

 
Proof of the concept had been displayed by Vanhoef portraying how exploitation utilising the Krack technique was possible. He cautioned on his website that he was not in a position to determine if such attacks had been actively utilised.

Vanhoef also mentioned that in order to protect the user from Krack attacked, it was essential to update Wi-Fi devices such as the smartphones, laptops and tablets no sooner the updates are made available. Users are also cautioned to update their firmware of router. A security update addressing the issue had also been released by Microsoft according to the reports of The Verge.

Wi-Fi Alliance which is a network of companies making Wi-Fi devices, defining Wi-Fi standards and programs had informed that platform providers have begun organizing patches for the purpose of addressing the problem.

Beetles Backpacks Earthquake Detect Trapped Humans

New age real beetles equipped with backups set to boost disaster management efforts

Scientists were looking for new way to boost the disaster management efforts on the global scale by bringing the world’s first smallest disaster management squad. The look of the beetles is very much similar to wearing backpack but it does have a number of unique features. These beetles have the ability to detect the carbon dioxide within the collapsed building and they controlled remotely using the tiny packs fitted right on their back. The carbon dioxide being released by the people trapped inside the buildings and other places will help in getting them detected by these beetles and rescue efforts will be centered round getting them safely and soundly fast.

 

Saving lives by detecting carbon dioxide

 
Scientists are immensely hopeful that these beetles will be sent in areas which have suffered from earthquakes, hurricanes and other disaster to boost the rescue efforts. The detectors placed on the beetles will help the people controlling the beetles to locate the life in the rubble. These beetles will be able to find whoever or whatever is generating carbon dioxide and could help in lessening the time usually lost in finding the victims after disaster events. Secondly it will also remove the need of digging up areas in hope of finding people alive rather focusing on concentrating on such areas from where carbon dioxide is being generated and there is more likelihood of finding the trapped person or persons.
 

The team behind this new age technology

 
These new age cyborg beetles have been developed by a group of scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU). The lead scientist on this research has asserted that these beetles will help in locating, finding and detecting the survivors buried below the debris and rubles quickly than any other technology present at hand. It will also help in combing a wide or large area within the shortest amount of time to get to the survivors as quickly as possible. The small size and some tool used in the development of the cyborg beetles makes them more suitable to get through the small spaces with much agility.



Scientists had made use of the darkling beetles and their backs are fitted with the tiny computer with the use of simple beeswax. The computer is used by the beetle handler to send electrical pulses to the beetle which is received by its antenna and helps in steering them on the right month. Beetles makes use of the temperature and heartbeat vibration apart from the carbon dioxide generation in order to detect survivors.

A number of critics have emerged who are actively against the use of the beetles for the rescue efforts. They believe that putting a tiny computer on the back of the beetles and steering them to detect and fin survivors is nothing less than animal torture. They are asking the scientists to make use of the mechanical robots rather than real beetles. Scientists has stated that they had taken good care of the beetles and when they are not being controlled then are living their normal lives.

Google Can Tell If Someone is Looking at Your Phone over Your Shoulder

Android 8.1 is all set to make its debut in December of this year. While the Beta version of the OS is already out, android is bringing out an update to 8.1 Users are encouraged to get the update onto their beta versions or in case of no beta version, they will be able to get the update only once they download it. This is in order to make a seamless transition from the old Android version to the new one.

Besides all the bug fixes and security patches, the update to android 8.1 also makes enhancements to Goggle Go which is meant for mobiles running on 1GB or less of memory space and also enhancements to Neural networks API which will basically enhance mobile intelligence.

8.1 Update and Pixel Phones: 

All the pixels, coming December will run on android 8.1. With the update all pixel phones will be close to the final version of the OS. The phones will get all the latest in neural networks API, which is at level 27, and all the latest updates besides the usual bug fixes and security patches.

With the 8.1 update, Pixel 2 users get Pixel Visual Core which is an additional processor for images that works alongside a third party app. So apps using Android camera API, can take HDR+ pics.

TensorFlowLite and 8.1: 

The update to 8.1 creates enhancements to Neural Networks API and accelerated performance to Google’s intelligence framework, TensorFlowLite.

All developers can now get their hands on TensorFlowLite download. Neural Networks API allows TensorFlowLite to run models such as Smart Reply, Inception V3 and MobileNets.

8.1 Update for App Developers: 

Developers are encouraged to get their apps tested before the official release of android 8.1 in December. With the new update, developers can test their apps from Google play. For phones that are not pixel or nexus, developers can get their apps tested on an emulator for android 8.1

Speeding up App Development: 

Developers can speed up the process of developing apps by using android studio 3.0. Android studio 3.0 allows developers to not only speed up app development but also has features like Instant Apps, XML Fonts, adaptive icons and more

A side Note…

Google recently presented a project, which they call electronic screen protector. All Google pixel phones will have this feature whereby the front facing camera on the phone and its artificial intelligence show if someone is looking into the phone without permission.

This new intelligence temporarily pauses apps to inform the user that someone is peeking at their screen. It is said that this feature works in all types of light settings and all poses. The peeping tom can be identified within 2 milliseconds.

One of the major reasons for this feature to run fast is that all processing is done on the phone itself and not from a remote server.

A major encouragement to Developers is the invention of GoogleFlowLite. Developers can now develop apps using artificial intelligence more quickly and with more computing power and less storage than its former GoogleFlow.

MIT Team Wins Mars City Design Contest

Redwood Forest idea by MIT team helps them win Mars City Design contest

 
We aren’t going to Mars anytime soon but NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) are simply giving wings to our aspiration with a unique competition. A competition conducted by these two premium space research organization has asked the participants to bring innovative solution for problems likely to be faced while journeying to the Mars. This particular competition focused on building design habitats which can be utilized on the Red Planet in future and it has been aptly titles International Mars City Design competition. Winner for 2017 edition of this completion is a bunch of engineers and architects from the Massachusetts of Technology (MIT).
 

Aiming for Mars City

 
A number of contests are conducted all round the world by different space research organization and private players to solve the problems associated with journeying or living on the Red Planet. The Mars City Design competition is quite well known and notable as it exclusively aims to some up with such solutions which help in building livable and sustainable spaces on Mars. It is also looking forward that the participants will come up with some solution which will allow astronauts to make a return journey with unique and exotic Martian resources with limited cargo.
 

Redwood Forest is a design for Mars city

 
MIT team has termed their winning design ‘Redwood Forest’ which as the name suggests has a collection of tree habitats and it is connected together using a system of tunnels termed ‘roots’. These roots effectively helps in navigating through the Redwood Forest as one can move from one tree habitat to another safely. It will also feature a number of private spaces along with a unique and amazing ‘shirtsleeve transportation’ system. Making use of the tunnels in the Mars City design will help in providing the residents the much needed protection against the abundant cosmic radiation, extreme atmospheric changes and other calamities present on the Martian surface.

The Redwood Forest wouldn’t be going to find itself as a sprawling habitat rather it will be made in the form of dome housing as many as 50 people. MIT engineers are looking forward to get 200 of just domes constructed which will be more than enough to support the group of 10,000 first settlers on the Red Planet. The best thing about this structure is that it easily offers private and public spaces along the possibility of harvesting plants and water on the northern plains of Mars.

MIT Engineers has stated that their Mars City will mimic the functionality and feel of the forest to its very core and it will utilize the existing Martian soil called regolith and ice or water along with the ‘sun’ to support life on the planet. This team even spiritually defines that having a design of forest brings the potential to showcase the outward growth which is seen in the nature and it will help in spreading the habit across the Red Planet in the future.

Double-Duty Textile Developed Could Keep Warm or Cool

Engineers from Stanford University have developed a low-priced, plastic-based Double-duty textile that interwoven in the fabric refreshes the body much more efficiently than the natural or synthetic fabrics of the clothes we wear today.

The study, published recently by Science, suggests that this new family of Double-duty textile can form the basis of clothing that keeps people cool in hot climates without the need for air conditioning.
"If you can refresh people, it's better than refreshing the building where they live or work, so we'll save energy," Yi Cui, an associate professor at Stanford University, said in a statement.

The new Double-duty textile cools by allowing sweat to evaporate through the fabric, something that normal fabrics already do, but the novelty is that it provides a second innovative mechanism to cool the body.
 

Human heat passes through plastic

 
The Double-duty textile allows the heat that the body emits as infrared radiation to pass through the plastic Double-duty textile. In fact, the blankets warm us because they trap that kind of heat near the body, which is the same that makes the body visible in the dark when wearing night vision goggles.

Between 40% and 60% of our body's heat dissipates in the form of infrared radiation when we are sitting in an office, another of the study's authors, Shanhui Fan, has indicated, but so far "there has been very little or no research on the design of fabrics according to their characteristics of thermal radiation ".

For the development of the new plastic weave, the researchers used nanotechnology, photons and chemistry to confer polyethylene a series of desirable characteristics for a Double-duty textile that is used to dress.

Thus, it allows thermal radiation, air and water vapor to pass through it, besides being opaque to visible light, and allows infrared radiation to pass through it, because that is one of the characteristics of polystyrene, one whose uses is to wrap food.

Chemically treated polystyrene

The Stanford experts did have to face two problems in the use of polystyrene: that it is waterproof and that it lets in light. To solve these problems, the researchers found a polystyrene variant that has a nanostructure that is opaque to visible light, but transparent to infrared radiation - allowing the body's heat to escape.

They also modified this Double-duty textile by treating it with harmless chemicals to allow vapor molecules to evaporate through nanopores in the plastic, allowing it to breathe like a natural fiber.

Once the material was obtained and to make it more similar to the Double-duty textile, they created a version with three layers, two of them treated polystyrene separated by a cotton mesh to give it more strength and thickness.

The experts continue with their research to add more colors to the new Double-duty textile and give it characteristics and textures that make it more similar to clothing.