Wireless Network Security

Wireless Network Security

2006

Providing an adequate security for any local area networks (LANs ) has always been a necessity for LANs to be a viable idea . From the very origin of LANS , the process of maintaining data integrity and prohibiting unauthorized access has proven to be problematic at best Overtime , many companies designed algorithms and product that provided security solutions . However , in the context of wireless networking emergence , these algorithms become not effective , because the nature of wireless local area networks (WLANs ) still provides relatively easy access to those networks

. From the critical perspective , while man efforts to implement radically new security algorithms were pioneered by many companies , those efforts have only recently been fully standardized

According to analysis conducted by AirDefence in 2003 , over 57 of WLANs were not protected . Other studies conducted by many organizations in 2004 and 2005 revealed the similar picture , according to which about half of existing WLANs lack protection and are vulnerable for unauthorized access and hackers ' attacks

Millions of private residents now have WLANs , allowing family members anywhere in the house to access the printer and network drive . In the absence of appropriate security , the technology also allows neighbors and people driving by to access the Internet on appropriately equipped notebook computers . This practice is known as wardriving : the practice of seeking out and taking advantage of free connection to unsecured wireless networks hackers drive around looking to tap into such networks (Cox , 20 . Wardriving has become a frequent activity for many computer users . In a study conducted by the computer security division of KPMG , a dummy access point was set up to observe the activity of wardrivers . The study found that , on average , there were 3 .4 attempts to access the dummy wireless network per day (Blandford and Renfroe , 63 As it was discussed above , Most Wi-Fi sites have no security measures at all

The security of every WLAN starts with password protection . Wireless routers and access points come with a standard factory-defined administrator password . These passwords are included with the router set-up instructions and are widely available on the Internet for most major routers . Changing the password will deter unintended or unauthorized alterations to the router 's security and operating configurations

Changing and disabling the SSID broadcast setting is one of the easiest steps to perform for securing a wireless network . The default SSID that comes preconfigured with a wireless access point typically identifies the manufacturer therefore , a hacker can easily identify the hardware that supports a wireless network . When adjusting the default SSID experts advise to use a nonidentifying SSID name such as wls123 Additionally , when configuring the access point or router , a user can easily set the device to not broadcast the SSID by clicking a check box or radio button . Thus , the access point 's name will not appear on the available network list of a casual wireless-network surfer who is within range of the wireless router . However , authorized users can gain access by simply entering the access...