802.11 Security

Chapter 1. A Wireless World

Wireless networking is revolutionizing the way people work and play. By removing physical constraints commonly associated with high-speed networking, individuals are able to use networks in ways never possible in the past. Students can be connected to the Internet from anywhere on campus. Family members can check email from anywhere in a house. Neighbors can pool resources and share one high-speed Internet connection.

Over the past several years, the price of wireless networking equipment has dropped significantly. Wireless NICs are nearing the price of their wired counterparts. At the same time, performance has increased dramatically. In 1998, Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) topped out at 2Mb/s. In 2002, WLANs have reached speeds of 54Mb/s and higher.

Unfortunately, wireless networking is a double-edged sword. Wireless users have many more opportunities in front of them, but those opportunities open up the user to greater risk. The risk model of network security has been firmly entrenched in the concept that the physical layer is at least somewhat secure. With wireless networking, there is no physical security. The radio waves that make wireless networking possible are also what make wireless networking so dangerous. An attacker can be anywhere nearby listening to all the traffic from your network—in your yard, in the parking lot across the street, or on the hill outside of town. By properly engineering and using your wireless network, you can ...