I recently came across an article from Microsoft that discussed wireless networking security. I thought the concepts discussed were relevant to many small and medium sized businesses that use wireless technology. Many of these companies may not know some of the risks associated with it.
The article discussed six wireless threats to your business. While I didn’t find all six to be extremely worrisome I did take note of three of them:
- Evil Twin
- War Driving
- Complacency
Evil Twin
Evil Twin attacks occur when someone sets up a wireless router or access point with the same SSID of one that you would normally connect to in hopes that you will connect to their wireless device and have easy access to your data.
War Driving
War Driving occurs when a person drives or parks outside of your building and attempts to access your existing wireless network. Both the Evil Twin and War Driving attacks require someone to be looking for a way into your network.
Complacency
Complacency simply involves not taking any effort to secure your network, and can cause just as much damage as the previous two.
To avoid being an easy target with minimal effort, follow these tips:
- Always change the default configuration of wireless devices
- Make sure you use a strong wireless passphrase to secure the wireless network
- Never join a network with weak or no security measures turned on
I’d encourage you to read the rest of the article as well. It’s a good read for anyone concerned with the security of the data on their network.
