Methods of Securing Wireless Networks

Methods of Securing Wireless Networks

After the previous tutorial, ie how to build a simple hotspot, of course, needed a system that can secure the existing WiFi hotspots to WiFi HotSpot access is not used by unauthorized parties besides you as the owner of the HotSpot.

* The fact is:

"At the end of 2002, 30% of all companies will experience a significant security risk because it has implemented 802.11b Wireless LANs (WLANs) without a good security system." ... Security Research and Advisory firm, Gartner Inc.

"Customers today's business objected to implement wireless technology because the fact is that Wireless is not secure," - Bill Rossi, vice president and general manager of Cisco's wireless networking operation.


"We went to a company with one of the wireless network is implemented. All Source Code, all available. Wireless network to broadcast, "Come over here" .... basically they have a Rolls-Royce was parked at the curb, motor running, with a "steal me." - Thubten Comberford of White Hat Technologies, a wireless security firm.

Well, hell How to secure Wifi network? The question is how important the security of your wireless network, whether at home, office, cafe, Campuses, Hospitals, Schools, and others. The answers to these questions will determine what kind of security system would you implement in your wifi network. Actually the standard in each of the Wireless Router / Access Point existing security methods, which do not need to install the software again. However, it only needed to be activated. All the same methodologies, but there are some new methods that are not owned by some of the Access Point / Wireless Router.

This security feature runs at 802.11, which is a standard for wireless communications / wireless at standardization by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and has been used around the world.

*** Here's a security feature HotSpot sorted from the beginning are implemented as standard on Wifi networks:

* WEP (Wireless Equivalent Privacy).
Is a security feature on Wireless network / HotSpot who first implemented and used as international standards. Almost all wireless devices have this method. WEP uses RC4 encryption method to scramble / encrypt the data that will be spent in jaraingan Wireless.


* WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access).
WPA is based on the IEEE 802.11i standard. There are two versions of WPA, which first version supports several encryption methods are:
~ TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol)
WPA was developed to feature as the development of the WEP which can be upgraded to firmware update 802.11melalui hardware. is part of 802.11i.
~ AES-CCMP
~ WPA Enterprise: using RADIUS-based authentication with 802.1x standard
~ WPA Personal: using PSK (Pre Shared Key) to encrypt data using a Passphrase 8 to 63 characters. Can also use 64 hexadecimal characters. Passpharase the weak can be penetrated using a dictionary attack (database passwords). But WPA is still secure, when used with Passpharase a "Good" or 64 hexadecimal characters that are not easy to remember a man.
~ WPA + EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol).
Many descendants of development such as WPA + EAP EAP-MD5, PEAPv0, PEAPv1, EAP-MSCHAPv2, LEAP, EAP-FAST, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, MSCHAv2, EAP-SIM, LEAP, PEAP, EAP-TLS.
LEAP (Lighweight Extensible Authentication Protocol) is more secure than EAP-MD5 EAP-MD5 but not safe from crackers.
PEAP (Protected Extensible Authenticatoin Protocol) allows for a secure wireless channels for data exchange, passwords and encryption keys without the need for a server certificate again. Features PEAP was developed by CISCO, MICROSOFT and RSA SECURITY.
EAP-TLS provides a very good security for authentication in both directions. Client and Network authentication using certificates and WEP-KEY per Session.EAP also uses a centralized authentication server.


WPA v2 is a version of the WiFi Alliance, the output of the final 802.11i standard.
Both WPA and WPA2 support EAP authentication using a radius server and PSK (Pre Shared Key).


All of these security systems have weaknesses and strengths of each of which may be tolerable in one condition but in other conditions can not be tolerated. Then from all the security features above, whichever is suitable for me? all depends on how important security for your wireless network.
If very important, then apply the most secure systems today, namely WPA + EAP using Radius, ie EAP-TLS. Of course different if the answer is a wireless security system is not too important. If so you can use the methods of WEP or WPA Personal.
And of course make it more difficult in the Hack / in the penetration by the cracker, use Passpharase complicated and do not form a sentence. if you can use the WPA Full64 hexadecimal characters.


Surely it does not mean not being transparent, but it complicates a cracker to break your wireless network. Wireless networks are usually easily penetrated because of weak passpharase used. With weak Passpharase used, a high school boy with a capital of a software cracker WEP / WPA, laptops, Wireless Device and a 15dBi antenna cans alone can penetrate the wireless network in a matter of Minutes.


Well, the conclusion is as follows:

~ Use existing security features in your Wireless hardware. The more expensive the price of the hardware, the more comprehensive security features. You get something with the price you pay.
~ Use Passpharase that are not easy to guess or use the full 64 hexadecimal characters for the WPA key.
~ As much as possible and activate the feature to use WPA.
~ If possible, use WPA security using EAP and RADIUS server.
~ More advanced again, use the Web Login HTTPS + Radius, such as 802.1x systems at large corporations.
Login to the web, and can use one indohotspot.net services provided at low cost without requiring a server investment. Software and provide our server, and you only use a wireless router that supports DDWRT Standard version. Thus to implement a reliable security system on your wireless network need not be expensive.
~ Give knowledge about wireless network security system for your users and store user and password properly when there is to prevent leakage from the user side.

Thus several ways to secure wireless network / hotspot you, both to be applied anywhere, whether the wireless network for schools, offices, cafes, hospitals, hotels, apartments, and others.
When applied to security systems, and is calculated before the wireless networks are implemented, then you can sleep more soundly knowing that your wireless network safe from intrusion and theft of business data.
Surely you do not want to sleep in while you sleep, without realizing someone's trying to infiltrate into your wireless network and perform data theft ato bandwidth from your wireless network is not it? (R0ch4)