Systech Solutions LTD.

Securing Wireless Networks

Wireless networks are becoming increasingly popular, but they

introduce additional security risks. If you have a wireless network,

make sure to take appropriate precautions to protect your information.

How do wireless networks work?

As the name suggests, wireless networks, sometimes called WiFi, allow

you to connect to the internet without relying on wires. If your home,

office, airport, or even local coffee shop has a wireless connection,

you can access the network from anywhere that is within that wireless

area.

Wireless networks rely on radio waves rather than wires to connect

computers to the internet. A transmitter, known as a wireless access

point or gateway, is wired into an internet connection. This provides

a “hotspot” that transmits the connectivity over radio waves. Hotspots

have identifying information, including an item called an SSID

(service set identifier), that allow computers to locate them.

Computers that have a wireless card and have permission to access the

wireless frequency can take advantage of the network connection. Some

computers may automatically identify open wireless networks in a given

area, while others may require that you locate and manually enter

information such as the SSID.

What security threats are associated with wireless networks?

Because wireless networks do not require a wire between a computer and

the internet connection, it is possible for attackers who are within

range to hijack or intercept an unprotected connection. A practice

known as wardriving involves individuals equipped with a computer, a

wireless card, and a GPS device driving through areas in search of

wireless networks and identifying the specific coordinates of a

network location. This information is then usually posted online. Some

individuals who participate in or take advantage of wardriving have

malicious intent and could use this information to hijack your home

wireless network or intercept the connection between your computer and

a particular hotspot.

What can you do to minimize the risks to your wireless network?

* Change default passwords – Most network devices, including

wireless access points, are pre-configured with default

administrator passwords to simplify setup. These default passwords

are easily found online, so they don’t provide any protection.

Changing default passwords makes it harder for attackers to take

control of the device (see Choosing and Protecting Passwords for

more information).

* Restrict access – Only allow authorized users to access your

network. Each piece of hardware connected to a network has a MAC

(media access control) address. You can restrict or allow access

to your network by filtering MAC addresses. Consult your user

documentation to get specific information about enabling these

features. There are also several technologies available that

require wireless users to authenticate before accessing the

network.

* Encrypt the data on your network – WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) both encrypt information on

wireless devices. However, WEP has a number of security issues

that make it less effective than WPA, so you should specifically

look for gear that supports encryption via WPA. Encrypting the

data would prevent anyone who might be able to access your network

from viewing your data (see Understanding Encryption for more

information).

* Protect your SSID – To avoid outsiders easily accessing your

network, avoid publicizing your SSID. Consult your user

documentation to see if you can change the default SSID to make it

more difficult to guess.

* Install a firewall – While it is a good security practice to

install a firewall on your network, you should also install a

firewall directly on your wireless devices (a host-based

firewall). Attackers who can directly tap into your wireless

network may be able to circumvent your network firewall–a

host-based firewall will add a layer of protection to the data on

your computer (see Understanding Firewalls for more information).

* Maintain anti-virus software – You can reduce the damage attackers

may be able to inflict on your network and wireless computer by

installing anti-virus software and keeping your virus definitions

up to date (see Understanding Anti-Virus Software for more

information). Many of these programs also have additional features

that may protect against or detect spyware and Trojan horses (see

Recognizing and Avoiding Spyware and Why is Cyber Security a

Problem? for more information).

_________________________________________________________________

Authors: Mindi McDowell, Allen Householder, Matt Lytle

_________________________________________________________________