Without doubt; the implementation, maintenance, updating, and testing of a network’s security suite in conjunction with ongoing network state-of-preparedness assessment, form the fabric upon which counteracting all forms of unauthorized network access and uses before, during and after the event are based.
Without doubt; the implementation, maintenance, updating, and testing of a network’s security suite in conjunction with ongoing network state-of-preparedness assessment, form the fabric upon which counteracting all forms of unauthorized network access and uses before, during and after the event are based.
Introduction
It would be nice to live in utopia, that ideal world where nobody was a villain and misdemeanors never occurred. Unfortunately for the majority of us residing back here on planet Earth, security breaches, compromises and issues are all too real and unpleasant facts of life. Regardless of our station in life somebody is always trying to get a free lunch at our expense or trying to take advantage of us in some other way.
This being said we need to identify the objectives, acceptable standards, policies and regulatory compliance requirements that our wireless network security should deliver as intended.
Wireless Networking Security Objectives Defined
It is widely recognized that the underlying themes of all network security, and not just the wireless components, should be such that they consistently ensure adherence to the principles expressed by the CIA of Security ethos. Simply put this means the planning, implementation and maintenance of organization/network-wide Confidentiality, Integrity and Authentication (CIA).
The implications of this are that only duly authenticated authorized users have full access to all of their allocated network resources, assets, capabilities, bandwidth and Quality of Service (QoS) in line with the appropriate user rights, permissions and privileges whilst maintaining full and comprehensive organization-wide network confidentiality and integrity. The trick is in doing so seamlessly and transparently to the user.
Strategies
The implementation of security strategies and solutions consisting of multiple layers of protection by incorporating and melding a blend of physical security, multiple layers of authentication, network monitoring, traffic flow control, firewalls, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, surveillance, logging and log analysis, specialized software, hardware and complementary technologies are widely regarded to be the fundamental pillars upon which the preservation of rock solid security for networks is built.
Make no mistake about it, this holds true for wired and wireless networks alike. By employing a security-in-depth approach many exploits can be negated. An example of where multiple layers of authentication can return handsome dividends is in wireless network access.
First line of defense is network access and connectivity controls. Users should be required to provide valid current authentication credentials in order to begin to access the wireless network. The user’s wireless adapters should also be required to authenticate themselves.
Machine authentication can be implemented by simply creating a Wireless Access Point (WAP) or wireless router MAC Address filter table. Devices lacking a qualified listed MAC Address will be automatically denied network access. This level access control actually precedes any user based authentication mechanisms since the MAC Address is contained in the Layer 2 header of every packet placed onto the network.
The next line in our defenses could involve additional authentication at various points throughout the network including transit beyond the local segment. For wireless networking components this can be most easily achieved by configuring dedicated wireless only network segments or through Virtual Local Area Network segmentation (VLANs) for wireless devices.
These specialized and segregated wireless networking segments can be placed into Demilitarized Zones (DMZs) for ease of administration. It is also advisable to make sure that they are on LAN segments physically independent of the rest of the network. Secondary user passwords or passphrases can be implemented at the application level as well.
Failure to incorporate a multi-layered approach makes the likelihood of successful intrusion far more likely. If all an attacker need do is to “crack” one password or passphrase then having gained access to a wireless network component without secondary authentication mechanisms in place you can safely assume that they will have also gained full access over your entire network. This means all assets and resources including those of the wired segments.
Wired and Wireless Issues
I will now cover the major issues and areas of concern pertaining to wireless network security. Please note that this list is not intended to be absolute nor complete. New exploits and threats arise every day. Hence I have elected to present and highlight here those areas representing the greatest concern and/or those areas most likely to present future new threats and exploits.
Many of the generic issues discussed below apply equally to wireless and wired networks alike. This is especially so when the device in question is a consumer class broadband modem/router. Both the wired and wireless versions will exhibit the same basic preconfigured functionalities and default manufacturer configurations. For example manufacturers tend to use the same default administrator name, administrator password and network names as well as enabling DHCP by default.
So let’s get to it and as always security starts with the physical and wireless networking is no different.
Physical Security
There are many physical security related issues regarding wireless networking security including the physical security of the device itself (accidental loss theft etc), device naming and labeling conventions, physical accessibility (so critical for troubleshooting) coverage, Quality of Service (QoS), bandwidth, signal distortion, degradation and strength, device location, type of antennae and many more. If you would like to read more then check out Wireless Networking Physical Security.
Transmission Media
Because wireless networks use a public domain transmission medium, which is freely accessible to anyone with the right tools and desire, it is imperative that additional care and attention be paid to security aspects throughout the network’s entire life cycle. So it is that the appropriate time for consideration of these initiatives to commence is at the very beginning of the network’s life cycle during the technical requirements analysis and evaluation, planning and design stages. The process will be ongoing from there.
Documentation
Wireless device manufacturers usually provide the device’s supporting documentation either on a disc bundled with the device or available for download from the manufacturer’s website. In general, this documentation usually describes first steps/getting started, minimum requirements, preparation, installation, additional security procedures and finally troubleshooting and support.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of users will either ignore or skim over this information or anything else that is not pictorially depicted in the quick start guide. Let’s face it these are the realities of our plug “n” play world. The device is working and I can use it; end of deal.
Plug “n” Play
The rise in popularity of wireless networks and technologies can in no small part be attributed to plug “n” play capabilities. On the one hand this is a boon for ease of connectivity, user friendliness and all-round ease of use. Yet it is these very aspects that make plug “n” play devices across the board so susceptible to subversion and compromise.
The problem with the default plug “n” play “silent install” approach to the installation and configuration of all devices (including wireless networking devices) is that in so far as network/device security is concerned it is no approach at all.
Manufacturer Defaults
Manufacturers preload their hardware with device specific software (firmware) and a basic configuration intended to get users up and running in the shortest possible time with minimal required user input.
Factory set default configurations, parameters, options and settings of most if not all devices are in the public domain. This is due to the fact that detailed and specific device defaults lists and documentation are generally freely available on the device manufacturer’s website. They can also be found on a number of other third party websites.
The big difference between the documentation, resources and tutorials etc that are published on a manufacturer’s website and those published on third party websites is that on the whole the third party sites tend not to confine their listings to only those devices manufactured by a single manufacturer. They also tend to reveal more of and about the inherent flaws and potential exploits of a device that a manufacturer would prefer to “overlook”. You might say that they are a one-stop-shop.
War Driving and Wireless Network Hacking
While most of us have heard of hacking the practice of “war driving” is not so well known. So for the benefit of one and all war driving is the practice of cruising around with a wireless enabled laptop complete with a plethora of wireless networking detection and cracking tools. Many war drivers even make use of GPS to physically locate with pin-point accuracy the precise locations of any wireless networks detected.
The major distinction between the two is that war driving is all about discovering the existence of wireless networks. Hacking wireless networks on the other hand is about cracking/breaking into those wireless networks discovered through war driving or any other means such packet sniffing.
In short, the hacking of wireless networks is all about gaining access to a network whilst not being a legitimate bone fide network user with authentic access privileges and rights. This does not infer in any way that a would-be intruder is implicitly malevolent.
For example, legitimate, authorized and authentic security staff conducting site surveys, penetration testing or network preparedness assessments usually do not have “evil” intent. Still others may be attempting to access your wireless network for the thrill of it simply because it’s there.
Note that the tools used for war driving and standard wireless hacking purposes are generally the same. In addition, these tools are freely available for download via the Internet usually in the form of self extracting automatic installation packages or user installable software.
What many may not realize is the degree of user friendly sophistication and capabilities that these tools have attained over the years of their existence and development. So it is that in today’s wireless networking climate we must assume that attackers are by default armed with these tools. With this in mind we can construct our defenses in a manner best suited to counteracting a multiplicity of threats originating from all angles.
Conclusion
In combination a device’s factory defaults and plug “n” play silent installation and setup provide a very user friendly, fast and convenient method to get a device up and running. Yet it is these very same default factory/plug “n” play device parameters, default configuration settings and behaviors that make wireless networks and wireless devices installed in this way without any further user/administrator interaction particularly inherently susceptible to compromise.
Therefore, immediately after the initial setup and installation has completed successfully the first security tasks that you should religiously attend to are the modification and/or customization of the basic manufacturer factory default settings, administrator names, passwords and configurations.
