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Wireless Security

08.04.06 - 05:10pm

Notebook computers are great. With my laptop I can go anywhere and surf the net, chat via IM, or read the news. My wireless router constantly keeps me connected as long as I am within range, but have you ever wondered who else it keeps connected? If you own a wireless router and you haven’t really fiddled with it much you might be in for a surprise.

In standard wired networks security breaches can only occur from the internet connection. Within the actual network unwanted computers cannot intercept your packets and break into machines due to the physical connections present in a wired network. Wireless networks on the other hand rely on radio signals to provide communication links and unfortunately radio signals are very far from being secure. The nature of radio signals is to disperse the signal in all directions while computers that receive the signal do the same thing to communicate with the base station. With so many signals being broadcasted through the air you can imagine how easy it would be to snag a few packets and start reading your traffic like a book.

Internet security is usually the least of someone’s concern while they are online but just think of how many times you have entered a credit card number, phone number, social security number, or other vital number or phrase into a web application and sent it through the internet? If you are utilizing a non-encrypted connection it is very easy for a malicious person to suck up those packets you send out, decode them, and retrieve the information. I’m pretty certain you don’t want to share your credit card with a stranger and neither would I.

W.E.P.

WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy is the most common and least effective form of security. WEP attempts to secure a wireless network by preventing any intruders from accessing the network, similarly to how a wired network operates hence the name “Wired Equivalent”. WEP security comes in many sizes ranging from 64 bit, 128 bit, 256 bit, and higher forms of encryption. 128 bit WEP operates by using a 24 bit initialization vector for the encryption key followed by a 104 bit key that is generally created through a 26 letter and word key phrase. Some of the weaknesses include the non-dynamic key, easily sniffed initialization vector, and terrible passkey selection.

WPA

WPA or Wi-Fi Protected Access 1 and 2 are the new standards in wireless encryption. WPA was created by the Wi-Fi Alliance in early 2003 and fully ratified by June 2004. WPA included many various fixes and features that helped patch issues that were documented with WEP. WPA features the same RC4 stream cipher that is used with WEP but WPA features a Temporal Key Integrity Protocol(TKIP) which dynamically changes the the cipher keys upon usage. This helps prevent the initialization vector attacks that WEP networks fell victim to. WPA also included a stronger data integrity check that helps prevent data corruption. One last preventative mechanism is the ability for the network to shut itself down when a packet sniffing attack is detected. This removes all chances of the network being compromised so long as the attack is an active attack.

What you should do

First and foremost you should always use some form of encryption to secure your network. Having no encryption is the first step to a lot of potential problems. Secondly you should configure your router so that the router ID isn’t broadcasted. Last off, choose a secure passkey. Don’t make it something that is easily guessed such as a common series of numbers. The more random the more secure your passkey will be. By taking these steps you can help protect your data from packet sniffers, protect your network from intruders, and develop a sense of caution in regards to internet security.

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