ElcomSoft releases GPGPU based WiFi cracker

Fastest WiFi cracker on the market

In a move that will be welcomed by some and dreaded by others, ElcomSoft, a  Russian company which specialises in security products, has announced that they have developed a tool to ‘recover’  wireless network encryption keys using the power of the graphics processing unit.

The software earns legitimacy by selling itself as a Wireless Security Auditor,  and is intended to be a useful tool for network administrators in assessing the security of their networks. The software is able to:

• Determine how secure your wireless network is
• Test the strength of WPA/WPA2-PSK passwords protecting your wireless network
• Save time with patent-pending GPU acceleration technology when one or more compatible NVIDIA or ATI video cards are present
• Run advanced dictionary attacks with highly configurable variations
• Perform attacks from inside or outside of your network

Harnessing the processing power of the GPGPU to power the software, it is the fastest Wi-Fi password recovery tool currently available on the market. Performance of the software depends on how many shaders are at it’s disposal and there is a clear divide between ATi and Nvidia cards. The Ati 4870 X2 has 800 shaders and the Nvidia GTX280 has just 240, and the effects on performance are clearly shown below: