TPS Reports Presents

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TPS Reports Presents
A Wireless Report Joy Gibbons Julia Grant Kelsie
Kirkpatrick Kevin Moore Byron Williams
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/milton.jpg
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Agenda

• Overview
• Wireless Standards
• Security Risks
• How to fix security risks
• How to install a wireless card
• Wrap-Up

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Overview

• Wireless networks manipulate electrical charges
  in order to communicate between devices.
• Wireless Networks use a type of electric current
  known as Radio Frequency (RF).

Source Wireless Security Primer 101
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Wireless Standards

• What are wireless standards?
• Agreements about how to communicate. Basically,
  this is what a network has to do to communicate
  to other networks.
• The original IEEE802.11 standard is a
  specification for wireless local area networks
  (WLANs) developed by the Institute of Electrical
  and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
• There are several specifications in the family
  and new ones are occasionally added.

• http//searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefin
  ition/0,,sid40_gci341007,00.html

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Wireless Standards

• About Wireless Standards
• Developed in 1989
• Range of about 300 feet
• Many operate at 2.4 GHz range
• Transmit on Radio Frequencies

http//www.windowsecurity.com/articles/Wireless_Se
curity_Primer_101.html
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Wireless Standards

• Outline of the current wireless standards
• Essentially, there is only one standard (802.11),
  it is constantly updated and revised by calling
  it names such as 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g,
  802.11n, and so on.
• The a, b, and g amendments are the most popular
  techniques for over the air modulation that uses
  the same protocol as 802.11.
• The 802.11i amendment is when security was
  included, and the other amendments (c-f, h-j, n)
  are all service enhancements or revisions.
• The 802.11n amendment is the newest standard,
  projected to be released in July 2007.

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11

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Wireless Standards

• Regulations for Standards
• Wireless standards are regulated under Part 15 of
  the FCC Rules and Regulations.
• The frequency used by wireless standards 802.11b
  and 802.11g can be interrupted by microwave ovens
  and cordless telephones, for example. For this
  reason, 802.11a operates on a 5 GHz band in order
  to avoid this interference.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11
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Comparing Wireless Standards
http//www.webopedia.com/quick_ref/WLANStandards.a
sp
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Future of Wireless Standards
802.11n

• January 2004 IEEE announced that it had formed a
  new 802.11 Task Group (TGn) to develop a new
  amendment to the 802.11 standard for wireless
  local-area networks.
• The real data throughput is estimated to reach a
  theoretical 540 Mbit/s (which may require an even
  higher raw data rate at the physical layer), and
  should be up to 100 times faster than 802.11b,
  and well over 10 times faster than 802.11a or
  802.11g. It is projected that 802.11n will also
  offer a better operating distance than current
  networks.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11802.11n

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Security Risks

• How does security in wireless technology affect
  the Accounting world?
• What are Security Risks for wireless technology?
• How does a company combat security risks?

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Security Risks

• Accidental Association
• Identity Theft or MAC Spoofing
• Ad-Hoc Networks
• Man-in-the-Middle

Image from http//www.windowsecurity.com/articles
/Wireless_Security_Primer_101.html
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Security Methods to Counter Risks

• MAC ID filtering
• Static Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
  
• Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
• Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol
  (LEAP)
• Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol
  (PEAP)
• Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)
• Remote Authentication Dial In User Service
  (RADIUS)
• And many others

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DHCP and PEAP

• Uses pre-assigned addresses for each MAC ID and
  is quite helpful by keeping non-authorized users
  away from APs.
• PEAP gives a secure transfer of data, passwords,
  and encryption keys

Source www.Wikipedia.com
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WEP

• Was the original encryption standard for wireless
  to be as safe as wired networks
• Secure wireless network has never been achieved
  through a WEP because of flaws and the abilities
  of crackers to crack codes
• TKIP helps avoid WEP problems with

Source www.Wikipedia.com
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WPA

• Uses a pre-shared key which establishes security
  by using a 8 to 63 character passphrase, or a 64
  character hexadecimal
• Updated version is known as WPA2, which includes
  the final IEE802.11i standard that includes a
  different algorithm

Source www.Wikipedia.com
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RADIUS

• Authentication, authorization, and accounting
  protocol used for remote network access
• Most important function for accountants because
  is enforces user policies and restrictions and
  also records accounting information

Source www.Wikipedia.com
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Securing a Wireless Network

• Enable and configure WEP
• Secure service set identifier (SSID) by changing
  the default SSID to a unique ID and changing it
  at frequent intervals.
• Change passwords often

Source Wireless Security Primer Part I
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Securing a Wireless Network

• Change AP position. To do this run an important
  site survey to locate problems and only cover
  areas that are in need of coverage.
• Use MAC filtering to grant access to those with
  an acceptable MAC ID.
• Use RADIUS to maintain user profiles in a central
  database that all devices can share and use.

Source Wireless Security Primer Part I
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Video for Wireless
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Wrap-Up

• The main takeaways
• Wireless standards make it possible to transmit
  data without hardwires.
• Since wireless is relatively new, there are many
  security risks.
• Most of these risks can be combated through
  certain loopholes.
• USB Wireless Adapters are the most versatile. If
  you need assistance, ask your IT Department.

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Thank you!

• Any Questions? Ask your nearest Byron.

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