1. Wireless Network Attacks: Tools, Attack Vectors, and Solutions.
By: Thomas Vaccaro

2. Hardware Software Concepts
Antenna - yagi, lpda, omni and amplifiers - how amplifiers work
NIC - monitor mode, primiscous mode
Hack RF one
Wifi pineapple
Software
Aircrack-ng - wifi crack
Cain and abel - windows password
Wireshark - packet sniff
Nessus - vulnerabilties - CVE - IEEE?
Concepts
Frequencies - wifi very specific 2.4Hz vs range mW power
Man in the middle
Rouge access point
Rainbow tables, brute force,
VPN - encrypting traffic
Netowrk spoofing
Wifi broadcasting SSID - don’t just turn wifi off and have location wifi turned on
High vs low level - risk management

3. Tools - Yagi
The Yagi-Uda Antenna is more commonly known as a Yagi (Ya-Ghee)
Directional Dipole Antenna
The boom points in the direction of the transmission and receiving cone
One Dipole - Driven (Transmission Line)
At Least One Reflector - Parasitic
One or More Elements (Directors) - Parasitic
Size determines frequency and they will be the same size
We need b/g/n for WiFi - ~2.4 GHz
The more elements, the more narrow of a range of frequencies
Boom - Connects Everything
The length of the dipole and elements determines what frequency will be transmitted or received

4. Tools - LPDA Log-Periodic Dipole Antenna
Works very similar to the Yagi
The same components
Elements are different sizes and are all driven from the front of the boom
Different sizes for a range of frequencies
Not used as frequently with computers
Ham Radio

5. Tools - Omnidirectional
Signal is transmitted or received 360º around the antenna
The antenna is driven
The part that connects to the antenna is ground
Can be tuned for different frequencies
Less far-reaching than directional

6. Attacks - War Driving Driving to see open or weak encrypted networks
Make a map of possible targets
Cross-reference houses or business’ and try to find high-profile targets
Or just get free internet*
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Use proper tools depending on location to attack the target
*Class A misdemeanor in New York State

7. Attacks - Packet Sniffing
Wireshark or Aircrack-ng
Aircrack-ng comes with WEP and WPA cracking tools
Enable Promiscuous Mode
See traffic that isn’t intended for user’s MAC address
Monitor Mode
Check NIC for Monitor Mode Availability
Observe plaintext for any useful data
Credentials
PCI or PII
Vulnerabilities

8. Attacks - Password Cracking
Brute Force
Rainbow Tables
Giving up hard disk space over computing power
Common encrypted passwords
Pass the Hash
Sending the hash of a password and being authenticated
WPA/WPA2
WEP Cracking
Nearly plaintext

9. Solutions Use WPA2 or more secure and never use WEP
Passwords need to be 13+ characters with an upper and lowercase, a number, and a symbol
Two factor authentication with active directory
Keep access points physically secure
Keep access point’s range at a minimum
Keep a watch and CCTV 24/7 for wardriving
If suspected - file a police report
No Wireless
Make the whole building a faraday cage
Patch vulnerabilities using tools
Local VPN
Firewall
Segment network
Tools - IPS, IDS, Log manager, vulnerability manager

10. References
Anim K, Jung Y-B. Shortened Log-Periodic Dipole Antenna Using Printed Dual-Band Dipole Elements. IEEE Transactions on Antennas & Propagation. 2018;66(12): doi: /TAP
Hal Berghel and Jacob Uecker WiFi attack vectors. Commun. ACM 48, 8 (August 2005), DOI:
Horáleka, Josef, et al. “Analysis of the Use of Rainbow Tables to Break Hash.” Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, vol. 32, no. 2, Feb. 2017, pp. 1523–1534. EBSCOhost, doi: /JIFS
MacMichael, Cmdr. John. “Navy Wireless Networks — FIPS or Bust!” Department of Navy Chief Information Officer - Policy: Acceptable Use of DON Information Technology, Sept. 2005,
NIST. “National Institute of Standards and Technology.” NIST Special Publication B, 2019, pages.nist.gov/ /sp800-63b.html.
Saurav K, Sarkar D, Srivastava K. A dual-band reconfigurable Yagi-Uda antenna with diverse radiation patterns. Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing ;123(7):1-8. doi: /s y.
Scalisi, Michael. “Analyze Network Problems With Wireshark.” PCWorld, vol. 28, no. 4, Apr. 2010, p. 30. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN= &site=ehost-live
Simmonds M. Beware the drive-by attack. Computer Fraud & Security. 2016;2016(10): doi: /S (16)