Wi-Fi lockdown

Life

1 April 2005

Installing a wireless network in the home might seem like a great idea to the
technology enthusiast but beware there are trespassers out there looking to try to use you for your Internet access or worse, steal confidential information. A sub-culture of tech-savvy individuals exist out there, who drive around the place searching for live Wi-Fi networks. They do this in a strange ritual known as wardriving.

With the aid of a GPS receiver and a wireless networking card, these people can pick up an unencrypted wireless access point, and use it to browse the Web, send and receive e-mail and most alarmingly of all, snoop around that said network. Yes, wardriving does pose a significant security threat to home computer users.

Thankfully, Wi-Fi enthusiasts can do something to protect themselves from these trespassers. The first precaution they must take is to avoid purchasing wireless equipment with WEP security encryption. Instead, they should look to the newer, faster equipment that supports the WPA standard.

With the right configuration, WPA offers bulletproof encryption of up to 2,048 bits. With increased security comes the drawback of decreased network speeds, but this is a sacrifice worth making to ensure that nobody else can penetrate your network. Once users ensure that their wireless networking equipment supports WPA, they need to configure it to prevent the network from broadcasting its identity. This can be done by simply ticking a check box on the access point set-up menu. And yet this is something that installers overlook all the time.

Most home users, who have installed broadband and have invested in a wireless router as an extra, have no idea that wardriving happens and many others may not care whether it does or not. But successful penetration from wardrivers could have far-reaching and very serious consequences.

Take, for example, a solicitor teleworking from home with DSL, who has also invested in a Wi-Fi router to extend the power of the broadband connection to a second PC. They have a wireless network with an access point.

If a wardriver finds that network and fixes themselves up with an IP address on it, then they could easily get their hands on confidential client information. The solicitor with an appetite for cutting-edge technology could end up losing their job.

Before users invest in emerging technologies such as Wi-Fi, they must educate themselves on the risks associated with them. Having a wireless network at home with all the flexibility it provides is a wonderful development, but only if you ensure that you have deployed the appropriate security technology to keep your data safe and your privacy intact as well.

Stephen Cawley Editor

14/06/04

Read More:


Back to Top ↑

TechCentral.ie