The growth of wireless technology has brought us not only advantages and mobility, but also risks. The widespread commercial use of Wi-Fi wireless enterprise networks has spawned a whole new generation of hackers targeting wireless attacks. Here, we will analyze the main risks of wireless networks and how to eliminate them.
First of all you should know that traditional wired networks use conductor wires to transmit data. They are protected by several important means. The first line of defense - is the physical boundary of the building where the network resides. Other means of defense are firewalls and IDS/IPS traffic analysis systems.
So if the hacker wants to achieve his goal - he will have to infiltrate the building and connect directly to the network, or break through the firewall. Wired networks are better protected than wireless ones due to the fact that we'll get to that later. But even wired networks can be easily hacked through inappropriate use of wireless networks.
You should keep in mind that you can never achieve high security measures with wireless networks as they can be used from considerable distances outside the building. But the truth is, you'll be able to identify who's hacking from outside the facility by looking at your connection speed. The trick is that the weaker the signal, the slower the connection, so if you're on a 100 Mb/s connection and suddenly you get a 10 or 5 Mb/s connection, you're probably sure someone is trying to connect to your wireless network.
So, to better understand the possible ways to protect against wireless threats, let's take a look at the main ones.
Risk 1 – Outsiders
Another common cause of cyber hacking is faulty hardware configured with no protection at all. These are often improperly configured executive tablets or personal laptops. They will act as "rogues," giving hackers a chance to break into the network and spread malware there.
Risk 2 – Configuring Defective Hardware
As I've said - wireless network users are mobile. They connect and disconnect several times a day, and the moment of connection — is the most dangerous moment in the network. When you connect to a wireless network, Wi-Fi devices send each other packets with access codes. A hacker can track and intercept such packages, so he will know the security code and your network will be compromised.
Risk 3 – Nature of Floating Connections
But not only notebooks can be "rogues". Such tasks can be accomplished with Wi-Fi routers and many other Wi-Fi compatible devices.
A rogue device is a device that can grant access to a wired corporate network via a wireless device. A classic example is a laptop connected to a local business network with its Wi-Fi adapter active. Sometimes these people connect to the nearest wireless network, surf the web without restrictions, or just send some files to his colleagues over Wi-Fi. In this case, the device creates some kind of virtual bridge between the protected wired network and the defenseless wireless network. Therefore, anyone accessing the corporate network through such a device can bypass the security protocol. This is the most common risk of any network.
Businesses also sometimes try to save some money by buying consumer-designed hotspots and routers because their protections are weak. You should always purchase enterprise-designed hardware to protect your company information. A growing number of companies are concluding that wireless wifi bluetooth jammer may be a suitable solution.
Risk 4 - Outdated Encryption Algorithms
Other protocols like EAP-FAST or PEAP MS-CHAPv2 are more reliable. Hackers will have to spend more time cracking these. The only "impenetrable" security protocol for wireless networks is WPA2 – Enterprise. But it won't always be that reliable.
Many wireless networks still use outdated security protocols such as WEP or WPA. They are easy to crack because they broadcast control packets in decrypted form. Therefore, packets containing information needed to connect can be intercepted by any Wi-Fi station. All the hacker needs is to aggregate some critical number of packets sent over the wireless network and analyze them, so he will gain full access within 5-10 minutes. You have to be very careful and careful when choosing where and what quality to buy your wifi signal jammer.
