Wireless and Mobile Device Security, 2nd Edition

Wireless Networks and Information Theft

Wireless networks are susceptible to information theft because, by their nature, they transmit to anyone who cares to listen. All that is necessary is an antenna and a receiver tuned to the correct frequency. A client station need only listen for an access point’s beacon before sending an authentication request and forming an association.

But that’s not the only way in which information can be stolen. An attacker can install a rogue access point or evil twin to steal user credentials. Attackers can also obtain this information via social engineering. In short, there are many ways an attacker can exploit the natural vulnerabilities of wireless communications to steal information.

For this reason, wireless ...