Introduction
The use of the wireless devices goes on to increase as they turn out to be cheaper and more affordable to the users (âUsing wireless technology securelyâ 1). The increased use of the wireless technologies among the business as well as personal systems has led to better accessibility and interoperability.
But, on the other hand, this same ubiquity has as well contributed to a rise in the level of risks to the computer networks. The attackers have been offered fresh ways to engage in the stealing of very sensitive information, messing about with the business processes, and sabotaging ânetwork security enforcement systemsâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
While new threats as well as attacks âare found against wireless networks, they are addressed with changes and additions to the protocols and standardsâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1). In this paper, the wireless technology is going to be discussed, including its benefits and security threats and later, focus will be on how to âpassword protectâ the wireless technology.
Benefits of Wireless Technologies
It is pointed out that, in the current day, more than 165 million mobile experts as well as organizations make use of the wireless technologies in solving business problems and gaining competitive advantages (âWireless technology 2).
The increased reliance on networking in the business world and the internet growth as well as online services strongly indicates the âbenefits of shared data and resourcesâ (âWireless technologyâ 2).
The wireless solutions bring these benefits to a high level by giving room for users to have access to the shared information and applications, and eliminating the constraints that are associated with the wired connections. In addition, the wireless technology makes it possible for the managers of the networks to develop or expand networks without necessarily having to move or install wires.
It is pointed out that nearly all the computing devices which include âmonitors, desktops, tablets, workstations, printers and handhelds can be equipped to communicate wirelesslyâ (âWireless technologyâ 2). The wireless solutions give out more convenience, productivity and more cost advantages as compared to the wired networks (âWireless technologyâ 2).
Wireless technology allows a large number of benefits and this includes allowing business organizations to derive benefits âfrom the value of their informationâ (âWireless technologyâ 2). The wireless solutions are capable of offering users, âaccess to real-time information from more places in their organizationâ (âWireless technologyâ 2).
Such mobility offer support to productivity and also offer service opportunities which can not otherwise be achieved by using the wired networks. Companies are currently implementing wireless solutions with an intention of improving their competitiveness in the market. Having wireless solutions that are easy-to-use and more secure has brought about the opportunity to bring down the level of costs and has also led to improvement in performance.
It is also pointed out that âwireless networks extend core networks, provides greater utilization of existing networksâ (âWireless technologyâ 2). There can be configuration of wireless systems in various topologies in order to ensure meeting of some specific installations as well as applications.
There can be easy changing of configurations and ârange from peer-to-peer networks appropriate for few users to full infrastructure networks of thousands of users that enable roaming over a broad areaâ (âWireless technologyâ 3). However, these benefits that come with the wireless technology can not be enjoyed where appropriate measures are not taken in order to deal with the security threats that are associated to the wireless technologies.
Password protecting wireless technology
Following the security threats that face the wireless networks, there is a need to protect these networks. The âwireless router or access point in a network is essentially a radio transmitterâ (Rodriguez 1).
Similar to the case if a radio transmitter, any person that has the right tools can be able to pick up the signal in case he/she is within the range. Since radio transmissions âare broadcast through the air to target devices, any system properly configured within the radio broadcast range can also receive the wireless messagesâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
This implies that devices which are not supposed to be on the wireless network can get transmissions. It is observed that âthe extension of the network wireless technologies has well increased the attack surface available to malicious users; an adversary can become part of a network and interact with systems that were not designed to operate in a hostile environmentâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
The most common activity that is employed in the attack of the wireless technology is âwar drivingâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1). A person with ill intentions can engage in moving around with a laptop having a wireless receiver while listening to the âradio traffic that is being broadcastâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
There can be setting of the programs that are run on the laptop in order to automatically carry out the analysis of the data and make an effort to âbreak in to the networks as they are foundâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
Moreover, a large number of attackers can as well engage in correlating data with GPS information to come up with a âwireless access pointsâ map (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1). Basing on where they are located, the attackers, at a later time, can engage in revisiting these access points in order to carry out more attacks.
It is pointed out that âpassword protection can keep intruders out of your network, maintaining the privacy of your personal informationâ (Rodriguez 1). In order to âpassword protectâ the wireless network, this may involve use of encryption. It is pointed out that âdata encryption is used to âscrambleâ the signals the wireless network uses to send information back and forth between computersâ (Rodriguez 1).
It is only those users who know the password can be in a position to engage in the unscrambling of the signals âinto useable dataâ (Rodriguez 1). In the present day wireless technology, there exist two encryption forms and these are âWired Equivalency Privacy â WEP, and Wi-Fi Protected Access â WPAâ (Rodriguez 1).
WEP was the initial encryption form that was utilized in the wireless networks. This form of encryption is prevalent âin first generation network equipment and no-PC devices like PDAs, game consoles and media playersâ (Rodriguez 1). However, WEP do have a grave design weakness that enables the hostile entities to obtain the encryption key and be in a position âto see all traffic with relative easeâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
It is also pointed out that the âaccess control mechanisms that used the Media Access Control (MAC) address of networked devices no longer give IT professionals any guarantee a rogue device is within an easily identified physical areaâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
The synchronization capacities of the âaddress bookâ found in the cellular phones among other portable devices facilitates stealing of the âaddress bookâ in case it is not implemented in the right way, such as the âBluesnarfing for Bluetooth-enabled devicesâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1).
It is pointed out that having advancements in cryptanalysis, the software that is used in the analysis of âwireless network traffic and deriving encryption keys and passwords has become commonplaceâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1). Allocating encryption key that is much more complex for WEP remains to enable an attacker to identify what the key is in a very short period of time by making use of such software as WepLab and Aircrack.
Making use of encryption algorithms that are stronger but which have keys that are weak still leaves the networks prone to the dictionary attacks that utilizes âlist of words and permutations to try and guess encryption keysâ (âThe risks of wireless technologyâ 1) The WepLab as well as Aircrack support this operation method also.
However, it is noted that even if WEP is not strong enough as compared to other encryption techniques, it offers a fundamental protection level which is better than not having one (Rodriguez 1). If a person is making use of WEP, he/she can make it be more effective by engaging in changing of the password on a more frequent basis (Rodriguez 1).
In the current days, people prefer to use WPA as a âwireless network encryptionâ method (Rodriguez 1). This method gives room for passwords which utilize characters in addition to numbers and letters and this makes it possible to have passwords that are more secure to use.
The method as well offers stronger encryption which is regarded as being harder to âconquerâ by the intruders. The WPA method âmay not be supported by all hardware, but is designed to drop back to WEP in situations where hardware is not compatibleâ (Rodriguez 1).
It is also suggested that, as an additional layer to the safeguarding of the passwords, one is supposed to consider enabling âMAC filteringâ (Rodriguez 1). Every individual computer is assigned a â12-character identifierâ, which is only one of its kind, referred to as MAC ID. MAC filtering enables creation of the MAC addresses which are permitted to access the network. The MAC ID serves as a second password and it enables âonly a select number of computers in to the networkâ (Rodriguez 1)
Conclusion
In the current days, a large number of people and organizations are using the wireless technology on an increasing level because it has become more affordable and convenient to use. There are many benefits that are brought in by using the wireless technology. People and organizations can now access important information that can enable them to carry out their activities more comfortably and conveniently.
The companies are becoming more competitive in the market as a result of using this technology. However, there has also been an increase in the level of risks to the computer networks. Attackers have tried to have access to information on the unprotected wireless networks.
There is a need to protect oneâs information since it can be wrongly used by another person. To achieve this protection, there is a need for password protecting the wireless technology. This can effectively be done by using such methods as WEP and the more advanced method, WPA.
Works Cited
Rodriguez, Gene. Password protect a wireless network. Life123, 2012. Web.
âThe risks of wireless technology.â Security4wireless, 2010. Web.
âUsing wireless technology securely.â U.s-cert.gov. US-CERT, 2006. Web.
âWireless technology.â 2.hp, n.d. Web.