If you’ve ever used the wireless in a public place, you know how easy it is to grab information during the initial wireless handshake between the client and the AP. With WPA2, this handshake isn’t secure with open wireless networks. With the advent of WPA3, there is a new option for open networks – OWE, or Opportunistic Wireless Encryption.
Rowell Dionicio takes a quick look at how OWE is going to help with securing the communications between AP and client. He’s got some great packet captures showing how the whole exchange works and how the encryption happens transparently to the client. As Rowell says here:
Guest enterprise networks can feel more safe when browsing the web. Public spaces are less susceptible to sniffing since traffic is encrypted. Even the coffee shop can be safer. Remember the days of Firesheep? A Firefox browser extension allowed someone to hijack someone else’s Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter accounts. This was done over an open Wi-Fi connection.
Read more: Securing Open WiFi with OWE
