KARMA Attack

Term: KARMA Attack

Definition: A vulnerable device holds a list of its Preferred Networks (PNL), if this list is not encrypted an attacker can access it with a nearby access point. If the attacker were to set up a “rouge access point” that uses the same SSID as a network on the PNL, the device may connect to this rouge access point. Once connected, the attacker can intercept data between the device and the internet, allowing them to capture sensitive data or inject Malware.

Context/Example: An attacker launched a KARMA attack on me.

Related Concepts: PNL, Network Attack