WLAN security and related problems

WLAN security and related problems

WLAN security and related problems

One issue related to WLANs is security. Previously alot of corporates and homes users would use an ethernet plug and physical security wasn't that much of an issue. With WLANs everybody in an area has access to the wireless network as far as the signal can go. Wireless routers noawadays are getting efficient and they have extended ranges.

Some WLAN users turn their WLAN security off for convinience which creates a free hotspot and anyone can join into the network. Todays operating systems, such as windows makes it very easy for users to find and join wireless hotspots. This makes WLAN very prone to attacks and misuse of personal network.

For a home user, there are different ways to secure the network in order to avoid such attacks. The most common way is to configure access restrictions in the access point. These restrictions may include checks on MAC address and/or encryption. Another option is to disable SSID broadcasting, making the access point difficult for outsiders to detect. But then the user has to setup his/her WLAN manually because it will not show in the list of detected networks. A Wireless Intrusion Prevention System scan can also be used to provide wireless LAN security in this network model.

Some ways in which a WLAN can be made secure are as follows:

Allowing only specific MAC addresses on the network, MAC addresses are unique for hardware. However, this approach gives no security against sniffing, and client devices can easily fake MAC address. It means a cracker can simply change his MAC address which would appear to the network as a legitimate address.

Some modern access points support AP isolation, which isolates all the clients and wireless devices on the network from one another. It means that they will be only able to communicated with the gateway but not with any other device accessing the network.

One more very simple way is to hide the SSID (which is the id or name of the network), that means the router will not broadcast its name out for any clients that might want to connect. This makes it harder for anyone to connect to the network. Outsiders would have to guess first the SSID of the network.

Nowadays all WLAN routers incorporate WEP (wired equivalent privacy) encryption. One has to check if routers have this feature turned on by default or not. WEP provides some level of encryption but it has been proved that the level of encryption is not enough. There are free softwares available on the market, like, aircrack, which can be used to crack a WEP network.

Afterwards the WPA and WPA2 protocols were created to address the security problems in related to wireless LAN security. With these new protocols one is ensured of a good level of personal WLAN security. It is always recommend to use a long enough password i.e. atleast 14 characters. General guideline for password usage should always be followed. A random password or something which cannot be guesses is virtually uncrackable.

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