Hacking For Dummies, 5th Edition

Chapter 10

Wireless Networks

In This Chapter

Understanding risks of wireless networks

Selecting wireless network hacking tools

Cracking wireless encryption

Minimizing wireless network risks

Wireless local area networks (or Wi-Fi) — specifically, the ones based on the IEEE 802.11 standard — are increasingly being deployed into both business and home networks. Wi-Fi has been the poster child for weak security and network hack attacks since the inception of 802.11 a decade and a half ago. The stigma of unsecure Wi-Fi is starting to wane, but this isn’t the time to lower your defenses.

Wi-Fi offers a ton of business value, from convenience to reduced network deployment time. Whether or not your organization allows wireless network access, you probably have it, so testing for Wi-Fi security vulnerabilities is critical. In this chapter, I cover some common wireless network security vulnerabilities that you should test for, and I discuss some cheap and easy countermeasures that you can implement to help ensure that Wi-Fi isn’t more of a risk to your organization than it’s worth.

Understanding ...