What Are Wireless Attacks? How to Investigate Them Successfully?

In today’s business environment, wireless networks play a crucial role in how businesses conduct their daily operations. Using wireless networks, businesses have eased out several processes and have also got rid of the clutter created due to hundreds of wires. That said, wireless technologies are also offering a convenient solution for business needs. They are fast and more practical. But they also set free employees from the mess created by cables and wires.

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However, it is no secret that wireless technology is more vulnerable to intruders and attacks. This article will discuss wireless attacks along with the different types of wireless attacks and how computer forensics programs can be used for investigating wireless attacks.

What Are Wireless Attacks?

With the growing use and adoption of the internet, businesses can conduct their daily operations online and without being tied down to wires and cables. The wireless network is one of the newest technologies being offered by the internet to the digital world. Of course, they are easy to use and facilitates the growth of your business. But they also help in mobilizing your business much more efficiently.

However, on the downside, wireless technology is much more vulnerable to intruders and cyberattacks. Commonly known as wireless attacks, intrusion and penetration in the business network can pose a serious threat to the organization. Wireless attacks aim to steal confidential information being sent over the network. Thus, making it imperative for businesses to ensure the security of their network.

Types of Wireless Attacks

The following are the different types of wireless attacks that computer forensics personnel should know:

1. Rogue Access Point

Rogue Access Point is one of the many different types of wireless attacks. It is also referred to as an unauthorized access point on the network. The rogue access point can be created by a cyberattacker or even by a misinformed employee.

Rogue Access Point can even make the entire business network vulnerable to Denial of Service (DoS) attack, ARP poisoning, and much more. From the organization’s point of view, you can make use of network access protocols or network access controls to protect your organization from Rouge Access Point wireless attacks.

2. Packet Sniffing

Business networks are designed to accelerate and facilitate the traffic of information. As a result, the information is sent in the form of data packets across wireless and wired networks.

However, because of the wireless network’s nature, these data packets are sent through the air. Thus, making it easier for intruders and attackers to capture them. With the help of free access tools such as Wireshark, attackers can easily read the information inside the data packets. Therefore, if the organization wants to protect their confidential information, they must invest in efficient encrypted solutions.

3. Jamming

Also known as network interference, Jamming aims to disrupt the business network. Because of the wireless nature, avoiding interference is almost impossible. Even a microwave or a pair of Bluetooth headphones can also cause interference on the business network.

Cyberattackers or intruders often combine the jamming technique with other wireless attacks such as evil twinning. Therefore, if you want to protect your organization from such types of wireless attacks, invest in a spectrum analyzer. This will prevent your organization from interference.

4. Evil Twinning

It is one of the most commonly used wireless attack techniques wherein the attackers get a wireless access point and then configures it as the existing network. Therefore, making it difficult to differentiate between the evil access point and the actual access point.

One of the easiest ways to protect your organization from the evil twinning type of wireless attacks is to opt for data encryption. Therefore, even when the intruders create an evil twin, they cannot read the data.

How to Investigate Wireless Attacks Using Digital Forensics/Computer Forensics?

Cloud forensic specialists use different cyber forensic tools such as Wireshark to investigate the different types of wireless attacks on the organizational network. Thus, allowing businesses to conduct their daily operations much more effectively.

Source: eccouncil.org