Common network threats and protection methods of wireless networks (1)

Security is a prominent problem in the company's wireless network. As more and more enterprises deploy wireless networks, they connect employees, professional partners, and the general public to their systems and the Internet. The need to enhance wireless network security is becoming increasingly urgent. Fortunately, as more and more companies are increasingly aware of the threats that wireless networks are facing and the ways to deal with them, the threat gap between wired networks and wireless networks is getting smaller and smaller.

Wireless Network threats

Wireless Network security is not an independent issue. Enterprises need to realize that they should deal with attackers on several fronts. However, many threats are unique to wireless networks, including:

1. Insert attack: the insert attack is based on deploying unauthorized devices or creating new wireless networks. Such deployment or creation often does not pass the security process or security inspection. You can configure the Access Point and enter a password when accessing the client. Without a password, intruders can connect to the internal network by enabling a wireless client to communicate with the access point. However, some access points require the same access passwords for all clients. This is very dangerous.

2. Roaming attackers: they do not have to physically be inside an enterprise building. They can use network scanners, such as Netstumbler and other tools. Wireless networks can be sniffed out using laptops or other mobile devices on mobile transportation tools. Such activities are called "wardriving". They can perform the same tasks on the street or through enterprise websites, this is called "warwalking ".

3. Fraudulent access point: a fraudulent access point is an access point that is set or exists without the permission or knowledge of the wireless network owner. Some employees sometimes install fraudulent access points to avoid the company's installed security measures and create hidden wireless networks. Although this type of private network is basically harmless, it can construct a network without protection measures, and then act as an open portal for intruders to access the enterprise network.

4. Dual-sided demon attacks: these attacks are also called "wireless phishing". Dual-sided demons are actually fraudulent access points hidden by neighboring network names. Dual-sided demons wait for some blindly trusted users to enter the wrong access point, and then steal data from individual networks or attack computers.

5. Stealing network resources: some users prefer to access the Internet from neighboring wireless networks. Even if they have no malicious attempts, they still occupy a large amount of network bandwidth, seriously affecting network performance. More uninvited customers will use this connection to send emails from the company or download pirated content, which may cause some legal problems.

6. Hijacking and monitoring of wireless communication: Just like in a wired network, hijacking and monitoring over wireless network communication are completely possible. It involves two scenarios: one is wireless packet analysis, that is, skilled attackers use techniques similar to wired networks to capture wireless communication. Many tools can capture the initial part of the connection session, and the data usually contains the user name and password. Attackers can then use the captured information to name a legitimate user, hijack user sessions, and execute some unauthorized commands. The second case is broadcast packet monitoring, which depends on the hub and is rare.

Of course, there are other threats, such as client-side attacks (including DoS attacks), interference, encryption system attacks, and incorrect configuration, these are all factors that can bring risks to wireless networks.