• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechCybersecurity

How to Fix the KRACK Wi-Fi Security Hole in Your Phone or Laptop

By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 17, 2017, 9:32 AM ET

Researchers on Monday announced that they had found a gaping security hole in WPA2, one of the most popular Wi-Fi communications encryption standards. But the exploit they uncovered that could allow hackers to steal even encrypted wireless data, dubbed KRACK, can be foiled by software updates. And the major tech hardware and software vendors quickly started announcing those fixes this week.

Consumers should act just as quickly to patch their phones, laptops, Wi-Fi base stations, and other gear. Almost every company that included wireless capability in their devices or software needs to issue an update, as this exhaustive list compiled by the government-sponsored U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team indicates. The list includes links that will be updated to each company’s patches or recommended fixes.

Among the biggest names in the tech market, Microsoft (MSFT) said it has already eliminated the security hole in an update to the Windows operating system that was issued on October 10. “Customers who apply the update, or have automatic updates enabled, will be protected,” the company said in a statement.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Apple (AAPL) issued fixes for the vulnerability on October 31 with its release of iOS 11.1 and MacOS High Sierra 10.13.1.

Google, which oversees the Android software running on more than three-quarters of smartphones worldwide, released a patch in November that addressed the vulnerability. Even after Google (GOOGL) completed its work, the challenge remains to get the patch out to all Android users. Because it is controlled in part by wireless carriers around the world, the Android ecosystem sometimes struggles to distribute security patches.

Among major networking hardware vendors, Cisco Systems (CSCO) said it had patches available for some products, but was still assessing what else it might do to eliminate the vulnerability in additional products. Intel (INTC), which makes wireless chip sets that include WPA2 also issued a lengthy list of affected products and updated driver software to close the hole.

Makers of home Wi-Fi base stations are also issuing patches, including some from large companies like Netgear (NTGR) and smaller startups such as Eero. Installing software updates to the firmware of Wi-Fi routers is typically a more complicated process that applying a security patch to a phone or laptop, but the router vendors have included instructions along with their patches.

(Update: This story was updated on October 31, 2017 with Apple’s fixes and on November 6 with news of Google’s Android patch.)

About the Author
By Aaron Pressman
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

The CEO of Informatica, Amit Walia
SuccessCareers
Like DoorDash and Google’s CEOs, $7.6 billion Informatica boss is a McKinsey alum—he says being ‘pushed around’ by smart consultants helped him grow
By Emma BurleighJanuary 17, 2026
2 hours ago
photo of western union store
CryptoCryptocurrency
Stablecoins will shake up the $900 billion remittance market—setting up a fight between crypto firms and legacy brands like Western Union
By Carlos GarciaJanuary 17, 2026
3 hours ago
InnovationThe Boring Company
Exclusive: Elon Musk’s Boring Co. is studying a tunnel project to Tesla Gigafactory near Reno
By Jessica MathewsJanuary 16, 2026
13 hours ago
AIOpenAI
ChatGPT tests ads as a new era of AI begins
By Sharon GoldmanJanuary 16, 2026
16 hours ago
AITech
Trump says he’ll make tech firms pay for power. They’d love to
By Michelle Ma, Alicia Tang and BloombergJanuary 16, 2026
17 hours ago
Close cropped images of Sam Altman alongside an actor playing him.
AIFilm Industry
A filmmaker deepfaked Sam Altman for his movie about AI. Then things got personal
By Beatrice NolanJanuary 16, 2026
19 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
America’s $38 trillion national debt is so big the nearly $1 trillion interest payment will be larger than Medicare soon
By Shawn TullyJanuary 15, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Europe
Americans have been quietly plundering Greenland for over 100 years, since a Navy officer chipped fragments off the Cape York iron meteorite
By Paul Bierman and The ConversationJanuary 14, 2026
3 days ago
placeholder alt text
Health
The head of marketing at Slate posted on LinkedIn requesting cleaning services as a benefit at her company. The next day, HR answered her call
By Sydney LakeJanuary 15, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Anthony Scaramucci thinks Trump's 'hard-left' move to cap credit-card fees is because he's 'texting back and forth with Mayor Mamdani'
By Nick Lichtenberg and Eva RoytburgJanuary 16, 2026
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
The Nobel Prize committee doesn't want Trump getting one, even as a gift—but they treated Obama very differently
By Nick LichtenbergJanuary 16, 2026
17 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Ford CEO Jim Farley says the White House will 'always answer the phone,' but needs Trump to do more to curtail China’s threat to America's autos
By Sasha RogelbergJanuary 16, 2026
1 day ago

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.