Qualcomm looks to make Wi-Fi safer with WPA3

Smartphones powered by Qualcomm technology will be able to deliver more secure Wi-Fi connections thanks to the rollout of the latest Wi-Fi Protected Access3 (WPA3) technology across the company’s mobile and networking infrastructure portfolio.

WPA3 is more secure than the widely-used WPA2 standard thanks to the use of stronger cryptography and network protections that mean it can even be used with confidence in industries that handle sensitive information like health and finance.

Specifically, it makes it harder for passwords to be guessed via a brute force attack, and also makes public Wi-Fi hotspots safer to use thanks to Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE).

Qualcomm WPA3 security

Qualcomm hopes that WPA3 will make attacks such as the KRACK exploit, which targeted vulnerabilities in WPA2 and exposed unencrypted network traffic, less likely when it arrives with the Snapdragon 845 System on a Chip (SoC), first in the OnePlus 6.

“At Qualcomm Technologies, we’re committed to working closely with industry bodies like the Wi-Fi Alliance to develop security standards to best protect data traffic across networks and devices, especially as security threats and attacks continue to become increasingly sophisticated,” said Rahul Patel, head of connectivity and networking at Qualcomm.

“By adopting the latest in encryption technology to protect Wi-Fi connected products from security attacks, Qualcomm Technologies helps customers build products that not only deliver the industry’s latest technologies to the market, but adopt the most advanced security standard available.”

WPA3 is set to become as widely adopted as its predecessor, with carrier equipment also using the standard to protect connections. It also expected to improve security for the Internet of Things (IoT), which has been the subject of numerous warnings from the cybersecurity community.

Steve McCaskill is TechRadar Pro's resident mobile industry expert, covering all aspects of the UK and global news, from operators to service providers and everything in between. He is a former editor of Silicon UK and journalist with over a decade's experience in the technology industry, writing about technology, in particular, telecoms, mobile and sports tech, sports, video games and media.