This is a paper I wrote for a course at WozU. The Topic was wireless networks, and how they are secure.
Introduction
Part 1:
Wireless networks and their security. All wireless networks are based off 802.11 as per the IEEE the standard was created in 1997 but has since been updated many times. As with all modes of data transfer that exist in today’s world, the updates came with speed and security. Our wireless networks operate on two main frequencies, this is 2.4ghz and 5ghz. With the frequencies to avoid overlapping and interference as much as possible there are a couple of things we can do. Like putting our devices on the 2.4 ghz band using channels 1,6,11 rotating to avoid overlapping while moving through the building and putting our security system on the 5ghz band to avoid any interference between the two.
Moving on to how security is handled in wireless networks. There are three main forms of security used in today’s wireless networks. Personally, I would say only two and realistically only one should ever be used. But there might be situations where you would need to know all three, how they work and how secure they are.
Security Standards
WEP
802.11 Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) this standard should not be used ever! The standard claimed that it was as secure as a wired network hence the name, but by no means was it. Uses a static 128-bit pre shared key that started as a 40-bit key that was ridiculously easy to crack. While moving to 128-bit key helped. The Initialization Vector (IV) is still only 24-bit so capture a packet and the game is over in under 30 seconds.
WPA
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) replaced the WEP standard. It uses Temporal Integrity Protocol (TKIP) that replaced IV and uses Message Integrity Check (MIC) to double check the message to make sure it is the same. While TKIP doubled the rate to 48 from 24 this is still very weak and I would not recommend using it unless your only choice is this and WEP.
WPA2
The only real choice here in my opinion is Wi-Fi Protected Access 2(WPA2). It uses AES this uses 128-bit, 192-bit, and 256-bit key length for encryption but stays locked at a 128-bit block size. Brief explanation of why different lengths are used is power consumption, on a phone a 128-bit would kill your battery much slower than 256-bit. The data is also hashed before and after transmission to check integrity. As of now AES has never been broken and it was designed back in 2001.
Public Key Infrastructure
Part 2:
Public key infrastructure (PKI) is used to secure data integrity, confidentiality, and non-repudiation in most aspects of the internet. With PKI you are given a certificate that is linked to you, this allows you say “hey this is me I am me because of this certificate and you can trust it.”
This is used in things like:
- Securing emails
- Securing web communications
- Digitally signing software
- Encrypting files
- Decrypting files
This generates a public key and a private key. The public key anyone can use and see, but the private key is your own key, again it says “hey it’s me I’m the only one that has this let me in.”
The public key is generated through a certificate. A file will have the public key in it and your private key, if both match on the file you are let in.