Wireless Security Threats and Solutions By Shirene Turpin

Wireless Security Threats and Solutions By: Shirene Turpin & Rob Waight

“Virii are wondrous creations written for the sole purpose of spreading and destroying the systems of unsuspecting fools. This eliminates the systems of simpletons who can’t tell that there is a problem when a 100 -byte file suddenly blossoms into a 1, 000 -byte file. Duh. These low -lives do not deserve to exist, so it is our sacred duty to wipe their hard drives off the face of the earth. It is a simple matter of speeding along survival of the fittest. ” -Anonymous Virus Creator

Wireless Security Threats • • • Denial of Service Attacks Theft of Service Industrial and Foreign Espionage Rouge Access Points Malicious Code/Viruses

Wireless Security Threats Denial of Service Attacks • The purpose is to deny the victims’ access to a particular resource, which usually means cutting off access to the service or network as a whole. • The network is flooded with information, through flooding the 2. 4 GHz frequency or packet flooding.

Wireless Security Threats Theft of Service • Hacker gains access to the internet or anything else by using someone else’s resources. • Leads to a much more serious type of threat that can cost companies and individuals a lot of problems and money.

Wireless Security Threats Industrial and Foreign Espionage • Specific to wireless networks, and is probably the most prominent, and often the most costly type of attack. • Also known as sniffing or eavesdropping. • Two types of eavesdropping: Passive and Active.

Wireless Security Threats Industrial and Foreign Espionage • Passive: The attacker simply monitors the wireless session after gaining access to the transmission. The attacker can read the actual data being transmitted and learn about its source and destination. • Active: The attacker must have access to the network itself so that instead of simply listening in, he or she may actually make changes to the packet itself.

Wireless Security Threats Rouge Access Points • Unauthorized access points that leave open doors to a company’s network. • Two types: unintentional and intentional. – An employee may wish to have more mobility at work, without setting up security parameters. – Hackers will mimic the current Access Point to gain access to the network.

Wireless Security Threats Malicious Code/Viruses • Any program (or code) that is used intentionally to cause adverse affects to a system. • Most commonly known as Viruses. • Most threatening type of Virus is a Worm. For example, the Code Red worm replicated itself over 250, 000 times in approximately nine hours on July 19, 2001.

Wireless Security Solutions • • • Built-In Security Authentication Software Sniffing Ethical Hacking

Wireless Security Solutions Built-In Security • Basic security built-in to 802. 11 standard devices usually shipped with features turned off. • First level is to change the name of the SSID and turn broadcasting off. • WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) makes data about as secure as it would be on an unencrypted wired network through encryption.

Wireless Security Solutions Authentication • Uses keys to gain access to an access point. • Most popular is EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) by calls for authentication from the server. • A more secure form is Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS), since it calls for authentication of both the client and the server.

Wireless Security Solutions Software • Make sure that each and every computer on the network has a reliable antivirus and firewall service that is updated regularly. • Firewalls and ad-ware removers help guard against small everyday attacks and annoyances that can happen simply by stumbling onto the wrong website.

Wireless Security Solutions Sniffing • Use hacker’s type of software to sniff network for unauthorized transmissions. • Purchase products that search for new, unauthorized access points and notify the network administrator.

Wireless Security Solutions Ethical Hacking • Ethical Hackers are hired by companies to create a secure environment by purposefully try to break into the network. • Their job is to try to break into a company’s network, identify its weaknesses, and offer ideas to fix the holes that exist.

Questions?