Hackers Can Trick Wi-Fi Devices into Draining Their Batteries

New Scientist

Matthew Sparkes

January 9, 2023

Security experts at Stanford University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Canada's University of Waterloo found hackers can fool Wi-Fi-using devices into draining their own batteries by exploiting a unique aspect of wireless network operations. The exploit targets "polite Wi-Fi," in which devices acknowledge and reply to messages from any other wireless devices, even those lacking passwords or permission to be on the same network. The researchers found a $10 device can transmit fake data packets to continuously ping battery-operated Wi-Fi devices and keep them from entering sleep mode, draining their power. Tests on 5,000 devices from 186 manufacturers revealed they were all vulnerable to this exploit.