Wireless

• What is the overview of Wireless LAN 802.11 technology?

  Wireless LAN technology standard 802.11b has the strongest momentum to becoming the main standard for corporate internal wireless LAN networks. The bandwidth of 802.11b is 11 mbits and operates at 2.4 GHz Frequency. The successor of this current 802.11b standard is 802.11a and it is designed to be faster speed and operate at a different frequency. While 802.11a standard and the technology behind it has become available, 802.11b is still widely used today and many companies and individuals are deploying it or deploying dual 802.11b and 802.11a devices.

  As more wireless technology is developed and implemented, the complexity of the types of attacks will increase, but these appear the standard main methods used to break and attack wireless systems. These attacks may be very similar against other wireless type technologies and is not unique to 802.11b. By understanding these risks and how to develop security solution for 802.11b, this will be a good stepping-stone for providing a good secure solution to any wireless solution.

• When will 802.11a arrive and how will the security be different than 802.11b?
  Most manufacturers of wireless technologies have come out with 802.11a technology now. The specifications for the protocols of 802.11a are very similar to 802.11b, therefore many of the security risks are shared for both 802.11a and 802.11b. Many of the security issues around 802.11b will continue to be an issue with 802.11a, therefore by understanding current issues will help organizations deal with future issues as well.
• What is an Access Point?
  The AP (access point also known as a base station) is the wireless server that connects clients to the internal network. Base stations typically act as a bridge for the clients. There is an IP address for management configuration of the base station. The base stations typically have an SNMP agent for remote management.
• How much does the equipment for wireless 802.11b cost?
  Base stations have become relatively inexpensive, approximately under $300US. The 802.11 client cards for PDAs, laptops, and desktops are approximately under $100US. Because of inexpensive equipment to get into wireless, attackers can get easy access to the tools necessary to apply the attack. Because of the inexpensive price, within many companies employees can purchase wireless equipment without approval and deploy this in a rogue fashion, creating additional risk.
• Are companies the only wireless targets by attackers?
  While this FAQ focuses on the risk issues from a corporate network perspective, these same issues apply to home networks and telecommuters that are using wireless. As the corporate networks are allowing in remote users, these remote users may be using wireless at their end-point to connect in. In this case, even if wireless capabilities have not been installed on the corporate network, they may still be affected by the risk that their remote employees are using wireless at home or on the road.
• Where can you find wireless 802.11 networks?
  Airports, hotels, and even coffee shops like Starbucks are deploying 802.11 networks so people can wirelessly browse the Internet with their laptops. As these types of networks increase, this will create additional security risk for the remote user if not properly protected.
• Can you spot a laptop with wireless 802.11 capability by looking for the antenna?
  Many major computer manufacturers are now supporting built in wireless 802.11 capability and many new laptops are building an internal wireless antenna. The physical antenna will not be easy to spot on all laptops.
• What are the major security risks to 802.11b?
  Here is the list of main known security risks with 802.11b:

  • Insertion Attacks
  • Interception and monitoring wireless traffic
  • Misconfiguration
  • Jamming
  • Client to Client Attacks
• What is Secure Access mode?
  Lucent has Secure Access mode. This configuration option requires the SSID of both client and base station to match. By default this security option is turned off. In non-secure access mode, clients can connect to the base station using the configured SSID, a blank SSID, and the SSID configured as “any”.