Security Awareness Wireless Network Security
Attacks on Wireless Networks Three-step process Discovering the wireless network Connecting to the network Launching assaults Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 2
Discovering Beaconing At regular intervals, a wireless router sends a signal to announce its presence Scanning Wireless device looks for the incoming beacon information Wireless location mapping Also known as war driving Finding a beacon from a wireless network and recording information about it Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 3
Discovering (cont d.) Tools needed for war driving Mobile computing device Wireless NIC adapter Antenna Omnidirectional antenna Global positioning system (GPS) receiver Software Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 4
Discovering (cont d.) Figure 5-8 USB wireless NIC Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 5
Connecting Service Set Identifier (SSID) Network name and can be any alphanumeric string from 2 to 32 characters Wireless networks are designed to freely distribute 3 their SSID rd Once a wireless device receives a beacon with the SSID, it can then attempt to join the network Virtually nothing that an attacker must do in order to connect Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 6
Connecting (cont d.) Figure 5-9 Connecting to a wireless network Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 7
Connecting (cont d.) Some wireless security sources encourage users to configure APs to prevent the beacon from including the SSID Does not provide protection Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 8
Launching Assaults Eavesdropping Attackers can easily view the contents of transmissions from hundreds of feet away Even if they have not connected to the wireless network Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 9
Launching Assaults (cont d.) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Ensure that only authorized parties can view transmitted wireless information Encrypts information into ciphertext Contains a serious flaw Attacker can discover a WEP key in less than one minute Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 10
Launching Assaults (cont d.) Stealing data Once connected attacker treated as trusted user Has access to any shared data Injecting malware Trusted user enters from behind the network s firewall Can easily inject malware Storing illegal content Can set up storage on user s computer and store content Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 11
Launching Assaults (cont d.) Launching denial of service (DoS) attacks Denial of service (DoS) attack Designed to prevent a device from performing its intended function Wireless DoS attacks Designed to deny wireless devices access to the wireless router itself Packet generator Create fake packets; flood wireless network with traffic Disassociation frames Communication from a wireless device that indicates the device wishes to end the wireless connection Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 12
Launching Assaults (cont d.) Figure 5-13 DoS attack using disassociation frames Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 13
Launching Assaults (cont d.) Impersonating a legitimate network Attackers will often impersonate legitimate networks in restaurants, coffee shops, airports, etc. Does not require wireless router Ad hoc or peer-to-peer network Once the connection is made Attacker might be able to directly inject malware into the user s computer or steal data Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 14
Wireless Network Defenses Secure the home wireless network Use an unprotected public wireless network in the most secure manner possible Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 15
Securing a Home Wireless Network Locking down the wireless router Create username and password Do not use default password Typical settings on the wireless router login security screen Router Password Access Server Wireless Access Web Remote Management Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 16
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Figure 5-15 Wireless router login security screen Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 17
Securing a Home Wireless Network Limiting users (cont d.) Restrict who can access network by MAC address MAC address filter Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Wireless routers distribute IP addresses to network devices Properly configuring settings DHCP lease 3 rd Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 18
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Figure 5-16 MAC address filter Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 19
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Turning on Wi-Fi protected access 2 (WPA2) Personal security model Designed for single users or small office settings Parts Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) To turn on WPA2 Choose security mode Select WPA Algorithm Enter shared key Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 20
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Figure 5-18 Security Mode options Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 21
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Figure 5-19 WPA Algorithms setting Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 22
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Configuring network settings Network Address Translation (NAT) Hides the IP addresses of network devices from attackers Private addresses NAT removes the private IP address from the sender s packet and replaces it with an alias IP address Port address translation (PAT) Each packet is sent to a different port number Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 23
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Virtual local area networks (VLANs) Segment users or network equipment in logical groupings Creates a separate virtual network for each user of the wireless network Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) Separate network that sits outside the secure network perimeter Limits outside access to the DMZ network only Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 24
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Figure 5-21 Demilitarized zone (DMZ) Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 25
Securing a Home Wireless Network (cont d.) Port forwarding More secure than DMZ Opens only the ports that need to be available Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 26
Using a Public Wireless Network Securely Turning on a personal firewall Runs as a program on the user s local computer Operates according to a rule base Rule options Allow Block Prompt Stateless packet filtering Stateful packet filtering Provides more protection Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 27
Using a Public Wireless Network Securely (cont d.) Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) Uses an unsecured public network as if it were a secure private network Encrypts all data that is transmitted between the remote device and the network Advantages Full protection Transparency Authentication Industry standards Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 28
Figure 5-22 Virtual private network (VPN) Course Technology/Cengage Learning Security Awareness, 3 rd Edition 29