Hacking: Basic Security, Penetration Testing and How to Hack (hacking, how to hack, penetration testing, basic security, arduino, python, engineering Book 1) by Isaac Sharpe

Author:Isaac Sharpe [Sharpe, Isaac]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2015-03-26T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Wireless Hacking & Security

A wireless network is a type of network that employs connections between desktops, laptops, printers, etc. using absolutely no wired media, e.g. LAN cables. In recent years, wireless technology has gained unprecedented popularity, majorly being driven by 2 factors, cost & convenience. A Wireless LAN allows people to gain access to shared resources without the need of physically staying in that location. Demands for wireless devices has been on the rise due to steady drop in electronic devices, e.g. computers, mobiles, etc. But even though they are undoubtedly convenient, they are extremely vulnerable as well to malicious attempts by hackers. It is a well-known fact among many Head of Network Security personnel that use of wireless infrastructure opens a backdoor into an organizations protected wired connections.

When wireless technology started gaining fame, there was a very big and widely distributed problem of standardizing their specifications as a technician had to get used to different organizations’ wireless specs before working for that company. To avoid this problem in the future, plans were put in progress in 1989 by the Institute of Electrical Engineers; they ended up developing the very widely used IEEE 802.11 that is group of specifications designed for WLANs. The standard describes the over the air interface in which a mobile device and a wireless router must connect; nevertheless, the specification is now widely used among various large-scale enterprises in the world.

Wireless Standards

Here are the wireless standards you should be aware of before moving on to advanced techniques:

· Wireless Access Point (WAP) – this is a point from where networks are generated like wireless switches & routers.

· Service Set Identifier (SSID) – SSID is the name given to a WLAN network. In order to communicate with each other, all devices connected to a router must use the SSID.

· Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) – a BSSID is the name given to the extremely infamous MAC Address, also known as the Physical Address of a WAP. This is a standard throughout the world and is a unique 48 bit key given to devices by the manufacturers. It may be in the form of a hexadecimal, e.g. 00:A1:CB:12:54:9F

Checking MAC Address

You can check your device’s MAC Address in Windows by these simple commands:

1. Start > Run > CMD,

2. Type “getmac”,

3. Press enter,

Services Provided by a Wireless Network

There are various attributes of a wireless network and services provided by it:

· Beacons – these are packets that are sent from one device to another in order to maintain connectivity between the WAP & Client. These beacons are sent from time to time to make sure connectivity remains continuous.

· Channel – this is the frequency with which the signal is transmitted from the device.

· Data packets – these are also packets of data but these ones represent the data that is being sent from one WAP to a client system. These packets are also present in wire systems.

· Association – this means the establishment of wireless links between access points & wireless clients.

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