Wireless Security: The Dangers Of Wireless Network Security

Introduction

When wireless networks were first introduced, there were relatively few dangers, as hackers had not yet had time to latch onto the technology, as it was not very common. When they made it no one had any idea wireless networking would stretch so far and to so many people and so it was not create with a built in security. Then wireless technology became more popular because it allowed for mobility and so as the technology spread so did the ability to hack into them. It became much easier to hack into wireless networks over wired networks. This is where wireless network security comes into play. It is the prevention of unauthorized access of damage to computer using wireless networks. There are three main forms of wireless networking security: MAC Address Filtering, Wireless Authentication and Data Encryption. In addition there are also several smaller things that can be done like RF shielding. Each vary in who they protect and the level of protection they offer

MAC Address Filtering

The first method is Mac Address filtering which most wireless access points (WAP) support. This is a process that allows you to limit the access to your network by using the physical address or wireless NIC’s. In other word the MAC address filtering creates a list of accepted users to limit access to the network. A table is stored in the WAP contains the MAC addresses that are allowed to connect to the wireless network. Any frames that do not contain one of the MAC addresses listed in the table are rejected. In addition, many WAP’s allow you to pick specific MAC addresses and deny them access. This is rather useful in a small close quarter, for example an office building, where the network signal goes beyond the perimeter. You can check y...

... middle of paper ...

...ith a user entered PIN. Then using this, a powerful algorithm is created, that will very frequently generate a new encryption code. Any of these three provide a very strong form of security however they are expensive. Meanwhile, another extra step that can add to your security is using a RF shield. This is just applying a specialized wall paint and window film to a room or building. This significantly weakens wireless signals, thus keeping the signal from broadcasting outside of the specified area. This increases security because it makes it very difficult for hackers to receive the signals from beyond the controlled areas.

Conclusion

Although all these methods provide some level of security there are ways to bypass them. As technology grows, the ability to bypass the technology also grows. The method of security will have to continue to be improved and enhanced.