Wireless Networks

Introduction

Wireless networking is a process with the help of which telecommunication networking may be carried out without wires and cables to connect two electronic devices and communicate with each other (Publisher, 2016). Traditional communication has been carried out with the help of networks that has cables connecting two or more electronic devices. These networks usually cost a lot more compared to wireless networks. Also these networks may be feasible in local area networks but when it comes to wide area networks when the intention is to connect different devices far away from each other, wireless networks are more feasible. Also in a home or office setting, Wifi is utilized which is an example of a wireless network. Due to the fact that two devices are connected wirelessly and the data has to move through an open medium with the help of electromagnetic waves, wireless networks may encounter many threats. The following discussion would shed light on these threats and their types.

Wireless network attacks

There is no room to ignore wireless network threats because the use of wireless networks has become a part of our daily lives (Phifer, 2014).. There are many ways attackers can attack us using a wireless medium. We use our mobiles wirelessly. We have never given it a thought that connecting to a Wifi or Bluetooth network might be exposing yourself to a threat. Attackers could set in a car and hack into a wireless network and steal valuable data. Connecting to a public network is also not free of danger and there is always a probability that the network might be attacked and our electronic devices may be accessed without our knowledge and permission. There are many types of wireless network attacks. Some of these attacks have been described in the following.

Types of wireless network attacks

Wormhole attacks

These types of attacks are carried out by eavesdropping data packets into wireless networks using different protocols (Hu, Perrig & Johnson, 2006). The data packets that have been dropped by the attackers may look alike to the actually authorized packets of data and could spread over a network easily. These dangerous packets may not be identified by the different firewalls due to them being organized in a way that they do not look any harmful for the network. Powerful network security software is required to counter such attacks.

Packet sniffing

Packet sniffing is an attack technique that is used to capture data packets sent over a wireless network from the air as the medium of transfer is air. Traffic like FTP, HTTP and SNMP is sent over air and is usually the target of packet sniffers. Data that is in plain text is usually the easiest one to be sniffed. Data that is encrypted can also be stolen with packet sniffing but then there is a need to decrypt this data to understand it. Packet sniffing is used to steal passwords and other identity information.

Man in the middle attacks

Man in the middle attacks is done by corrupting the data that is transferred through a wireless network. Communication devices are tricked with this technique ad data is corrupted which can then be recorded by the attackers and used later. Man in the middle attacks can even be used to change the actual content of the data that have been sent over a wireless network.

Rouge access point

This attack happens when an unauthorized access point (AP) gets into a wireless network. An AP can pop up at random over a wireless network. An AP can be categorized as a vulnerability because it can leave many doors open for attackers to attack a wireless network.

Jamming

In simple words, jamming attacks are used to jam a wireless network. Wireless networks can be jammed with the help of sending a large amount of unauthorized data to the network through access points and/or other techniques.

WEP/WPA Attacks

These types of attacks happen when a wireless router is attacked. These types of attacks can prove very dangerous if a wireless router uses out of date security protocols (Coler, 2016). To counter such attacks, it is a must to update the firmware of a wireless router to the latest and use a strong wireless network password.

Locking down wireless routers

There are a number of measures that can be used to lock down a router. When we buy a wireless router, it is a must to change the default logins that come with the router. Also the security of the Wifi should be kept to WPA2 which is the strongest security protocol. A list of all the devices that are approved to access the wireless network must be kept so that unauthorized devices can be blocked. Firewall of the router must always be enabled and guess access must always be disabled. These and many more measures can help us lock down our wireless routers efficiently and effectively.

Conclusion

To conclude, I would like to emphasize that we must keep our wireless networks safe by updating the firmware of the routing devices and also with the help of strong security software. We must not give the password of a wireless network to just anyone and keep changing the password after some time so that anyone who is unwanted but still have the password of our network can be blocked out. Wireless network is an important part of the modern telecommunication. Keeping it secure should be a priority.

 

 

References

Coler, C. (2016). Retrieved from https://phoenixts.com/blog/types-of-wireless-network-attacks/

Hu, Y. C., Perrig, A., & Johnson, D. B. (2006). Wormhole attacks in wireless networks. IEEE      journal on selected areas in communications, 24(2), 370-380.

Publisher, S. (2016). Wireless Networks – Springer. Link.springer.com. Retrieved from             https://link.springer.com/journal/11276

Phifer, L. (2014). An introduction to wireless security. SearchSecurity. Retrieved from             http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/feature/An-introduction-to-wireless-security