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Wireless Network Attacks

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Wireless network attacks

  1. Research wireless network attacks. What type of attack is most common?  Describe your findings
  2. Describe how to lock down wireless routers.

Wireless network attacks are increasing day by day; it is one of the most common security issues when it comes to networks. The attacker can get various confidential information through these attacks, and they usually use these data to commit crimes in other systems. It is essential to follow all the possible security measures to prevent these attacks as the wireless systems are vulnerable to these attacks.

There are various Wireless Network attacks. Some of them are as follows:

Bluejacking

BlueJacking is almost similar to hacking, in this, the intruder is able to send the unsolicited data to another device with the help of Bluetooth. It is also known as spam for the Bluetooth. This attack is possible only when there is Bluetooth network available.

Rogue Access Point

The Rouge Access point is an access point which is added to the wireless network without the individual’s knowledge. This is one of the access points which create a huge security concern, as it can be very quickly plugged in the wireless access points.

Man-In-The-Middle (MITM) Attack

The MITM (Man-In-The-Middle) Attack is the attack when the attacker tries to access the information which is being transmitted between the sender and the receiver. This seems to be insecure as the data is not encrypted. There are two types of MITM attacks.

  1. Eavesdropping: It is also known as the passive attack technique, in this the intruder tries to interrupt the transmitted data. There exist various security mechanisms like SSH, SSL, and IPSec which helps in preventing the Eavesdropping.
  2. Manipulation: It is known as the extended version of the Eavesdropping. In this, the attacker tries to manipulate the data that was interrupted by the intruders.

 

Jamming/Interference

There are numerous ways of jamming the wireless network. The most common method is Flooding an AP with de-authentication frames. The essential meaning of the Interference is to disrupt the one’s system. This interference can be done by various methods like cordless phone, Bluetooth headset, and a microwave oven.

 

Evil Twin

This is the wireless evil twin attack which occurs when the attacker tries to create the rogue access points so that he can access the various data or the information which is put on the network. When the attacker gets to know about one’s access point, then he can plugs into the system very quickly.

How to lock down wireless routers

There are various ways to lock down wireless routers. They are as follows:

  • Change the Passwords

The primary step in securing the network is to Change the passwords. The default password of the router is something like “admin” which is very simple to remember, and this is also the simplest one for the hackers to guess. There are almost 450 networking equipment vendors which contain the login credentials. The user can build his own password which must be a combination of numbers, complicated letters, and symbols.

Change the SSID

SSID stands for Service Set ID; this is the name of the wireless network. The user must change this SSID, as this will prevent the serial hackers from hacking the user system. There is one common default name like “Linksys,” which can be quickly attacked by the attacker.

Enable MAC filtering

Every communication device has its own MAC (Media Access Control) address, which is also known as the unique identifier which compromises of six pairs of alphanumeric characters. The steps to change the MAC address is as follows:

Get the MAC address of your device by opening the command prompt and then type ipconfig /all and then press enter. It will open all the IP settings. From this, you can change the MAC address.

References

  1. Five Wireless Threats You May Not Know. Retrieved from https://www.sans.edu/cyber-research/security-laboratory/article/wireless-security-1
  2. Lisa Phifer. A list of wireless network attacks. Retrieved from http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/feature/A-list-of-wireless-network-attacks
  3. Types of Wireless Network Attacks | TechRoots. Retrieved from https://phoenixts.com/blog/types-of-wireless-network-attacks/
  4. What is Bluejacking? – Definition from Techopedia. Retrieved from https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5045/bluejacking
  5. Wireless Attacks and Their Types. Retrieved from https://www.examcollection.com/certification-training/security-plus-wireless-attacks-and-their-types.html
  6. Alex Wawro. (2011, November 10). How to Lock Down Your Wireless Network | PCWorld. Retrieved from https://www.pcworld.com/article/243290/how_to_lock_down_your_wireless_network.html

 

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