Responding to KRACK: Wi-Fi Security Awareness in Private Households

Abstract

In this paper, we study the update and security practices of individuals in private households with an exploratory interview study. In particular, we investigate participants’ awareness regarding KRACK, a patched key vulnerability in the WPA/WPA2 protocol, and similar vulnerabilities in the context of usage and management scenarios in Wi-Fi networks. We show that while most people are aware of certain dangers, they struggle to address Wi-Fi related vulnerabilities. The findings could prove to be beneficial in identifying not only the current security status of average users regarding Wi-Fi security, but also to improve update and information propagation to mitigate related threats in the future.