- Wireless Access Points
- Either hardware or computers configured to broadcast wireless LANs - especially with computers as base stations, AP should be registered
- Each AP has an SSID (Secure Server Identification) - not necessarily unique
- Used in infrastructure mode - each computer connects to the AP, rather than each other (ad-hoc mode)
- Transmit beacons to show computers where they are and the signal strength
- For a closed network (secured) network, in order to connect to a wireless LAN the computer would need to mutually exchange authentication management frames in order to associate with the network.
- Wireless Security - how to keep information safe when using a wireless network
- WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy)
- Uses a 40-bit encryption key
- Key easily broken
- System known not to be secure - updated to WPA
- Other weaknesses include packet collisions and alterations through encryption
- WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) - also WPA2
- Uses 128-bit key and 48-bit initialization vector
- Uses TKIP (temporary key integrity protocol) - re-encrypts existing WEP encryption with new key and initialization vector that is unique for every packet
- Rogue APs will be open and not use either of these security methods with your AP
- Rogue Access Point
- Essentially a fake access point made without authorization of a network administrator and use unsecured wireless networks
- Not necessarily used as trojan APs, but still dangerous because information is unsecured
- Users do not need to authenticate in order to connect to the network
- Trojan APs reroute an existing signal through another computer and collects all IP traffic that runs through the network, such as passwords and other personal information
- Called 'soft' APs when configured on a computer, rather than hardware form
Uses of Rogue AP
- Data Leakage
- Data Sniffing of a user's sensitive data such as IP addresses, host names, and passwords.
- Free Internet Access
- Allows for free wi-fi to anyone in the vicinity of the rogue ap.This can allow strangers to use your internet connection for criminal uses.
- Denial of Service Attack (DoS)
- Makes a network unavailable to its intended users through attacks like IP spoofing where an attacker sends packets with a forged IP address which eventually flood the victim with overwhelming amounts of traffic.
