Wi-Fi Overview & Vulnerabilities

Wi-Fi (or) IEEE 802.11 x

Overall study of Wi-Fi

What is it?

                It is a device which allows to connect to network through wireless medium. It Is also represented as IEEE 802.11 x. Where x can be a\b\g\n\ac. It is most widely used in mobile, tablets and even more…applications. The name WIFI was given for the branding and commercializing the device.

Who is responsible for this?

                IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Who are maintaining the WIFI standards. They are also known as WIFI alliance. They are responsible for the introduction of new standard in the market.

Uses of Wi-Fi:

·         Mostly it is used to connect to the internet.

·         For general network connectivity.

·         For wireless display.

·         For remote control.

·         For media streaming .etc

Wi-Fi spectrum:

                Wi-Fi uses 2.4-2.5 GHz frequency spectrum. It has 14 channels which varies depending on your country. Among this 1,6,11 are non-overlapping and mostly preferred channels.

                The most modern Dual band WiFi operates on 2.4-5 GHz. It has more channels when compared to single band.

Risks:

1. WEP Encryption:

                Since this is the first commercial Wi-Fi encryption system. But it had a very bad security feature such as it could be cracked easily without any pain using the Offensive security tools. But currently not used but available.

2. WPS(Wi-Fi protected setup):

                This feature was included after 2000. But later found that It also has a security vulnerability. This made the possibility of breaking security within 3 hours Approx.(Possible using Reaver)

3. WPA/WPA2:

                This is the most advanced security encryption available now. It mainly facilitates breaking the wi-fi in passive mode(Without Accessing the AP). The WPA hand shake is noted and Brute force or Dictionary attack is made to break the key. This is just Bit strength VS Computing Power.

4. DeAuth Attack:

                This simply disconnects user from the AP till the attack continues. Nothing special with this.

5. Mac Address:

                The MAC address is a unique ID for each device which connects to network. This address is assigned by the device manufacturer. But they can be easily cloned to desired address.

                               

                                These are the major risks in WIFI devices. 

Still More stuffs will be posted in upcoming weeks....