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wireless network's access point is connected to a switch, the hacker will also have
access to data in the wired network.
Further, spammers can use your Internet connection and your ISP's mail server to send
tens of thousands of emails from your network without your knowledge.
Lastly, the hacker could make hacking into your network even easier by changing or
removing safeguards such as MAC address filters and WEP encryption. He can even
steal passwords and user names for the next time he wants to hack in.
Dictionary-Building or Table Attacks
Dictionary-building, or Table attacks, is a method of gaining network settings (SSID,
WEP keys, etc.) by analyzing about a day's worth of network traffic, mostly in the case of
business networks. Over time, the hacker can build up a table of network data and be
able to decrypt all of your wireless transmissions. This type of attack is more effective
with networks that transmit more data, such as businesses.
Man-in-the-Middle Attacks
A hacker doesn't need to log into your network as a user - he can appear as one of the
network's own access points, setting himself up as the man-in-the-middle. To do this,
the hacker simply needs to rig an access point with your network's settings and send out
a stronger signal that your access point. In this way, some of your network's PCs may
associate with this rogue access point, not knowing the difference, and may begin
sending data through it and to this hacker.
The trade-off for the convenience and flexibility wireless networking provides is the
possibility of being hacked into through one of the methods described here. With
wireless networks, even with WEP encryption, open to the persistent hacker, how can
you protect your data? The following section will tell you how to do just that.
B.1 Maximizing Wireless Security
Security experts will all tell you the same thing: Nothing is guaranteed. No technology is
secure by itself. An unfortunate axiom is that building the better mousetrap can often
create a better mouse. This is why, in the examples below, your implementation and
administration of network security measures is the key to maximizing wireless security.
No preventative measure will guarantee network security but it will make it more difficult
for someone to hack into your network. Often, hackers are looking for an easy target.
Making your network less attractive to hackers, by making it harder for them to get in,
will make them look elsewhere.
How do you do this? Before discussing WEP and WPA, let's look at a few security
measures often overlooked.
