How secure are wireless networks
I do have a question on wireless. If there's a signal with the mention "secured connection" how could I tap in to it? I know I need the password.. but any other trick?
Instead of giving you information that could lead to being an accomplice of network espionage I feel that this question deserves an answer concerning the different types of security available with wireless networks.
There are two main types of wireless security WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access. WEP is the old standard, and there are still a number of people using WEP. My goal is to expose some of the weaknesses of each, as well as ways to help protect your network.
WEP was originally intended to provide confidentiality compared to that of a traditional wired network. Serious hackers can bypass WEP security rather easily these days, which is why WPA was introduced in 2003. WEP uses the shared key approach to security. Think of this shared key much like a physical key to a building. If you have 20 people that have access to the building via the same key, there is a possibility of someone losing the key or loaning it out to someone. Just like you would not want 20 of your friends to have a key to your house, as that would be a disaster.
The WEP keys work as such; you create a phrase or word that is then translated into Hexadecimal Characters plus a 24 bit initialization vector, these characters now represent the key to your wireless network. So your friend stops by your house and needs to use your wireless network. The person does not need the long string of Hexadecimal characters, your friend just asks for the phrase. You tell them to put in dogschasecats and the utility software translates it into the correct Hexadecimal characters. Your friend is now on your network.
As for people who wish to hack into your network, because the pass phrase is static (does not change) they can run utilities that will eventually capture and translate the pass phrase. One tip that helps a little (ok it basically keeps the amateurs away) is to make sure that the SSID (service set identifier) is not set to broadcast. This will keep most straying eyes from knowing that a wireless network is alive. Professional hackers have software that can find hidden SSID’s. They can detect even if the Access Point is not broadcasting the SSID.
If you use WEP and your computer is constantly being dropped from the network, and then added back onto the network. Someone might be trying to spoof your network and learn the pass phrase. At this point, you might want to consider turning off your wireless network, and look into upgrading some equipment.
WPA distributes a different key to each user. There are two distinct features of WPA that make it more secure. First WPA uses a 128 bit key along with a 48-bit Initialization Vector. The larger the number, the more bits to hack, the more bits to hack, the longer it takes and the harder it is. Second, WPA uses Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) The keys used dynamically change as the system is in use. This defeats the well-known key recovery attacks of WEP systems.
In the example above we used 20 friends all with a copy of the same key to your house. As one can tell security would be rather low. WPA changes the scenario quite a bit. Suppose now that your house is equipped with an electronic key pad on all doors leading into the house and throughout the house. Now each of your 20 friends has their own unique code to enter the house. But as they move through the house they also need to be in constant contact with you as they move from room to room because the codes to each room are constantly changing. So they go to the kitchen, opps they don’t have the correct code… they are now bounced off of the network. The attacker now needs to start all over. The security used is called MIC (Message Integrity Code) which is a frame counter which ensures that replay attacks cannot be executed, but it also reduced the man-in-the-middle attacks
