802.11 Security

Scope of the Book

This book attempts to give you all the knowledge and tools required to build a secure wireless network using Linux and FreeBSD. You will be able to use this book as a roadmap to deploy a wireless network; from the client to the access point to the gateway, it is all documented in the book. This is accomplished by a two-step process. First, we talk about wireless and 802.11b in general. This book will give you a broad basis in theory and practice of wireless security. This provides you with the technical grounding required to think about how the rest of the book applies to your specific needs and situations.

The second part of this book details the technical setup instructions needed for both operations systems including kernel configurations and various startup files. We approach the specific technical setup using a “from the edge to the core” concept. We start by examining the security of a wireless client that is at the very edge of the network. Then, we move toward the core by providing a method of setting up a secure access point for client use. From there, we move even farther toward the core by examining secure configuration of the network’s IP gateway. Finally, we zoom all the way out and discuss security solutions that involve many parts of the network, including end-to-end security.

Part I provides an introduction to wireless networks and the sorts of attacks the system administrator can expect.

Chapter 1 introduces wireless networking and some high-level ...