The Wi-Fi virus that spreads faster than Common Cold

This product is named Chameleon and developed by the University of Liverpool’s School of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Electronics in England.

Published: February 27, 2014 6:41 PM IST

By Aishwarya Krishnan

The Wi-Fi virus that spreads faster than Common Cold

wifi

The joy of using an unprotected Wi-Fi is something that most of the world is guilty for today. In a time where people are more attached and active in the virtual world than in the real one, free Wi-Fi looks like bonanza. But have you ever wondered what would happen if the Wi-Fi that helps in you travel through the virtual world came at a cost? What if it infected your device with a deadly virus? This ought to be the worst nightmare for the 21st century.

Well here’s the news, this virus exists. Computer science researchers have demonstrated for the first time how a digital virus can go airborne and spread via Wi-Fi networks in populated areas at the same pace as a human disease. This product is named Chameleon and developed by the University of Liverpool’s School of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Electronics in England.

Researchers from the University’s School of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Electronics, simulated an attack on Belfast and London in a laboratory setting, and found that “Chameleon” behaved like an airborne virus, travelling across the Wi-Fi network via Access Points (APs) that connect households and businesses to Wi-Fi networks.

Areas that are more densely populated have more APs in closer proximity to each other, which meant that the virus propagated more quickly, particularly across networks which are connectible within a 10-50 meter radius. The behaviour of this virus is compared to the Common cold in humans. This opens up the wide range of threats that hover over the e-world. Time to be little more careful is what we suggest.

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