It鈥檚 called KRACK, which is short for Key Reinstallation Attack, and it can leave your Wi-Fi enabled devices susceptible to a hacker's attack.
鈥淪o basically it just tunes in and starts listening to what you鈥檙e transmitting across the network,鈥� said First Coast Connect tech contributor Ray Hollister.
The hack exploits weaknesses in WPA2, which is a security protocol used by most Wi-Fi routers. When KRACK is installed on a nearby laptop a hacker can see information presumed to be safely encrypted over Wi-Fi.
According to Hollister, a hacker has to be in the immediate vicinity of someone using a Wi-Fi network in order to launch an attack.
鈥淎nything you鈥檙e transmitting unsecured, like, you know, where you鈥檙e accessing a website, maybe even sending emails if you鈥檙e not doing it on a secured network, it can listen to it and gather that information,鈥� said Hollister.
Since changing a password offers no protection against this threat, Holister recommends running all recommended security updates and pressuring the makers of smart devices like televisions, refrigerators and thermostats to beef-up their security protections as well.
More information about the vulnerability is available at .
Contact reporter Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 or on Twitter .
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