Analysis of Wireless Security Vulnerabilities, Attacks, and Methods of Protection
Analysis of Wireless Security Vulnerabilities, Attacks, and Methods of Protection
Abstract - The rapid adoption and highly distributed nature of wireless networks has made it vulnerable to attacks and calls for innovative strategies of defense for network security. The lack of cables and transfer of information over airwaves makes data exchange more susceptible to interception. Furthermore, it is difficult to implement effective methods of security without sacrificing the quality and speed of network operations. For the previous reasons, wireless security has become a common topic of interest in research projects and will be the basis of discussion for this paper.
1. Introduction
The rapid adoption and highly distributed nature of wireless networks has made it vulnerable to attacks and calls for innovative strategies of defense for network security. The lack of cables and transfer of information over airwaves makes data exchange very susceptible to interception. Furthermore, it is difficult to implement effective methods of security without sacrificing the quality and speed of network operations. For these reasons, wireless security is a topic of much interest and will be the basis of discussion for this paper. For the sake of cohesion, we will specifically discuss wireless security on the wireless network protocol IEEE 802.11 (or Wi-Fi) and its use in managed networks (or Infra-structured) though many of the topics discussed apply to other protocols as well. In our discussions, we will conduct a survey of both encryption based and non-encryption based attacks.
1.1 Overview of Wireless Security
Through the evolution of wireless networks, IEEE 802.11 (or Wi-Fi) has gained popularity as a low cost networking alternative to cabling both in households and offices for setting up Local Area Networks 2 (LANs). The protocol’s popularity and ease of use comes at a cost, however, as attackers have dedicated many resources to discovering and exploiting its
Abstract - The rapid adoption and highly distributed nature of wireless networks has made it vulnerable to attacks and calls for innovative strategies of defense for network security. The lack of cables and transfer of information over airwaves makes data exchange more susceptible to interception. Furthermore, it is difficult to implement effective methods of security without sacrificing the quality and speed of network operations. For the previous reasons, wireless security has become a common topic of interest in research projects and will be the basis of discussion for this paper.
1. Introduction
The rapid adoption and highly distributed nature of wireless networks has made it vulnerable to attacks and calls for innovative strategies of defense for network security. The lack of cables and transfer of information over airwaves makes data exchange very susceptible to interception. Furthermore, it is difficult to implement effective methods of security without sacrificing the quality and speed of network operations. For these reasons, wireless security is a topic of much interest and will be the basis of discussion for this paper. For the sake of cohesion, we will specifically discuss wireless security on the wireless network protocol IEEE 802.11 (or Wi-Fi) and its use in managed networks (or Infra-structured) though many of the topics discussed apply to other protocols as well. In our discussions, we will conduct a survey of both encryption based and non-encryption based attacks.
1.1 Overview of Wireless Security
Through the evolution of wireless networks, IEEE 802.11 (or Wi-Fi) has gained popularity as a low cost networking alternative to cabling both in households and offices for setting up Local Area Networks 2 (LANs). The protocol’s popularity and ease of use comes at a cost, however, as attackers have dedicated many resources to discovering and exploiting its
References: [1]http://wifinetnews.com/archives/2003/12/wpa.html [2]www.mulliner.org/mobilesecurity/mms_vuln_mulliner_vigna.pdf [3] www.cisco.com/.../wireless/.../brochure [4] http://eprint.iacr.org/. [5]rfweb.tamu.edu/security/.../V1comput/Wireless.htm [6] http://www.rsa.com/rsalabs/node.asp [7]www.tml.tkk.fi/Studies/Tik0.300/.../Wireless/vulnerability_2.html [8]www.willhackforsushi.com/Wireless_Threats_Practical_Exploits. [9]http://wifinetnews.com/archives/2003/11/weakness_in_passphrase_choice_in_wpa_interface.html.