The development and expansion of wireless technology not only brings us benefits and mobility, but also brings risks. The extensive commercial use of the company’s Wi-Fi wireless network has spawned the next generation of hackers for wireless attacks. Here, we will analyze the main risks of wireless networks and how to minimize or eliminate them.
First of all, you should know that traditional wired networks use wires to transmit data. They are protected by several serious means. The first line of defense is the physical boundary of the building where the network is located. Other defense measures are firewalls and IDS/IPS traffic analysis systems. Therefore, if a hacker wants to achieve his goal, he will have to sneak into the building and connect directly to the network, or break through the firewall. Wired networks are better protected than wireless networks, and we will see the facts later. However, due to improper use of wireless networks, even these networks are easily damaged.
You should remember that wireless networks will never benefit from high security measures because they can be used relatively far away from the building. But the fact is, you can determine who is an external hacker by looking at the connection speed. The trick is that the weaker the signal, the weaker the connection, so if you use a 100 Mbps connection and a 10 or 5 Mb/s connection appears, you can be sure that someone is trying to connect from outside the building.
Therefore, in order to better understand the possible protection measures against wireless threats, let us take a closer look at their main content. A thief is a device that can grant network access to wired services through a wireless network. A typical example is a laptop computer whose active wifi jammer adapter is connected to the local company network. Sometimes, these executives can connect to the nearest wireless network to gain unlimited Internet access, or simply send files to colleagues via Wi-Fi, a protected wired network, and an undefended wireless network. Therefore, anyone can bypass the security protocol when accessing the company network through this device. This is the most common risk in any network.
But notebooks can not only become “thugs.” These tasks can be accomplished by Wi-Fi routers and many other devices compatible with Wi-Fi handshaking. As mentioned earlier, wireless network users are mobile. They connect and disconnect several times a day, and the connection time is the most dangerous time on the network. When you connect to a wireless network, Wi-Fi devices use access codes to send data packets to each other. Hackers can track and intercept such data packets, thereby knowing the secure password, and invading your network. Another common cause of network hacking is unprotected hardware failure. These are usually improperly configured supervised tablets or personal laptops. They will act like “villains”, enabling hackers to break into the network and spread malware in it.
Sometimes companies also try to save money by buying poorly protected hotspots and routers designed by consumers. You should always buy company-designed hardware to protect your business information. Many wireless networks still use outdated security protocols such as WEP or WPA. Because they broadcast control packets in a decrypted form, they are easily hacked. Therefore, the data packet containing the information required for the connection can be intercepted by any Wi-Fi site. All the hacker needs to do is aggregate and analyze it through the wireless network so that it can be fully accessed in 5 to 10 minutes.
Other protocols (such as EAP-FAST or PEAP MS-CHAPv2) are more reliable. Hackers will have to spend more time hacking. The only “impenetrable” security protocol in wireless networks is WPA2-Enterprise. But this is not always reliable. Therefore, you will see that wireless technology not only brings us benefits, but also brings new risks. These risks cannot be minimized or eliminated by the methods used in wired networks. Even the use of Wi-Fi is prohibited in the organization, some executives can connect to the wireless network, and put the entire company network at great risk. More and more companies have concluded that Wi-Fi interference devices may be the appropriate solution.