Guide to Wireless Security – part 1 of 3

A wireless internet connection can be of huge benefit to the user – allowing you to use the same connection for several PCs or laptops and therefore be able to access the internet as and when you need it.

However, as wireless connections use the airwaves they are more vulnerable to interceptions with other users taking advantage of your connection. This can have a knock-on effect as it can slow down your own download speeds and also make your wireless device more vulnerable to attacks.

That is why we have put together a wireless security guide to help you secure your wireless router.

What are the risks to wireless security?

As wireless services have expanded, the risks have become greater. Gaining unauthorised access to a wireless network is a simple process for a cracker/hacker if the correct methods to negate these risks are not taken by the PC owner. The risks include:

• Accidental association – It is possible for someone to gain access to your wireless connection by accident if they are in an overlapping network. This could expose information, such as emails, to your neighbours.
• Malicious association – This is where crackers actively attempt to connect to a network. This is particularly common in companies where it can be easier to infiltrate a laptop and access information than it is to go directly through the company access point.
• Identity theft – Also known as MAC spoofing, this is when the cracker identifies the MAC address and uses it to gain network privileges.
• Denial of service – If an attacker continually bombards an access point it could cause a legitimate user to be unable to get on to the network; it could even cause the system to crash.
• Man-in-the-middle – Hotspots are particularly vulnerable to these attacks in which a soft access point is set up by a hacker who then reads your traffic.
• Network injection – Used by an attacker to inject bogus commands that can affect your router, switches, hubs and more and ultimately bring down the entire network.

Unfortunately, the risks posed by hackers, crackers and other attackers are constantly changing and as a result it is a challenge for IT enthusiasts to keep one step ahead of those with malicious intentions.