IT/241 Wireless Security

Someone gaining unauthorized access to my network is something I would try to prevent at all costs. Unfortunately, even the best security measures can be compromised which allows someone to cause unspeakable harm to the devices connected. Out of the list of potential security breaches, Script Kiddies would be the one that could cause less damage than anything else. These hackers are typically people who know little about computers and may have not used them for very long. The script-kiddies download one of the most recently developed scripts and run them against targets on the Internet until they find a vulnerable target (Internet Security Systems, n.d.). These flaws are typically found quickly and repaired. These “hackers” are typically younger kids who like the power hacking give them, and typically are not looking to inflict harm to a network. While no attack is good, script-kiddies are the easiest to deal with on a network.
With the talk about the categories of attackers, the issue of wireless security and how to protect your network comes up. There are three types of security protection, MAC filtering, WEP, and authentication. Each has a different way to secure the network against unauthorized access. MAC filtering allows only traffic from specific client stations to pass through the network based on their unique MAC addresses (Coleman & Westcott, 2012). This gives the administrator the ability to lock the network down to only the devices they want on the network, giving another layer of security. WEP, or wired equivalent privacy, uses a hexadecimal or ASCII character key to secure traffic on the network. Finally, authentication is done by the access point sending a challenge to be encrypted by the client and finally sent back to the access point for verification. Looking at all three, MAC filtering would be the best way to secure a wireless network. While people can spoof MAC addresses, allowing the hacker to change the MAC address of the client, that person