Hacking Wireless Networks For Dummies
Foreword
In all of networking history, it has never been easier to penetrate a network.
IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN technology gives the hacker and networksecurity
professional inexpensive — many times free — tools to work with.
Whether you are an avid user of Linux or Windows, the tools are everywhere.
Due to the enduring and ubiquitous warez community, hackers can obtain
even the expensive analysis and penetration tools — such as 802.11-protocol
analyzers — with no investment.
This book will show you quite a few of the latest tools, but an exhaustive text
covering all currently-available wireless hacking tools would require a forklift
to move, and would require you to remove all other books from your bookshelves
to make room. With this many available tools, the important factor
becomes learning how to use them effectively and efficiently.
Beginners have wasted many weekends wardriving neighborhoods or business
districts. This type of probing for low-hanging fruit yields little, and is
a waste of valuable learning time. It is much more to an individual’s benefit
to learn an assortment of wireless-LAN penetration tools and work toward
the goal of obtaining useful information. Learning the tools and techniques
takes time and hard work in a closed environment, but yields much in the
information-technology arena.
The current demand for wireless-security professionals is staggering. Those
individuals who have taken the time to hone their skills in the use of available
tools and the latest penetration techniques will be financially rewarded with
a great career. I urge you to consider practicing and studying rather than driving
around from neighborhood to neighborhood hoping to send an e-mail
through someone’s cable modem.
One of the biggest problems with wireless networks today is the lack of intrusion
detection. Banks, investment firms, hospitals, law offices, and other organizations
that house sensitive information may have a corporate policy stating
that wireless LANs are not allowed. They may think that this “no-use†policy
keeps their networks safe and secure, but they are gravely mistaken. A rogue
access point could be placed on their network by intruders or by employees,
and without a wireless-intrusion detection system, there would be no way to
know that all of their security mechanisms have been bypassed — giving full
access to anyone within 300 feet of the facility. Wireless-security professionals
should be able to use available tools to locate wireless LANs, disable unauthorized
access points, and test for a full array of wireless vulnerabilities.
