802.

11 Wireless Security
John Berti
Senior Manager
Deloitte Security and Privacy Services
Agenda
Introduction to Wireless
Wireless Networks
Wireless Security
Top 8 Security Issues with 802.11
Security Controls for Wireless Networks
Summary Best Practices
Final Thoughts

Introduction to Wireless
Cell Phones
PDAs
WLANs
The Wireless
World
Cordless
Phones
Toys
Appliances
Introduction to Wireless
10
3
Hz
10
6
Hz
10
9
Hz
10
12
Hz
10
15
Hz
10
18
Hz
10
21
Hz
Radio
Microwave
Infrared
Visible Light
Ultraviolet
X-Ray
Gamma Rays
Introduction to Wireless
The Radio Frequency Band
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1GHz 3GHz 5GHz 10GHz
AM Radio (535 1605 KHz)
VHF TV (174 216 MHz)
FM Radio (88 108 MHz)
UHF TV (512 806 MHz)
Analog Cellular (824-894 MHz)
Digital Cellular (1850-1900 MHz)
Cordless Phones, Toys (900 MHz)
802.11b,g Bluetooth, Phones (2.4 GHz)
802.11a, g (5 GHz)


Unlicensed Radio Frequencies
Licensed Radio Frequencies
Introduction to Wireless
Wireless Networks
What is a Wireless Network
Wireless Access
Point
Demilitarized Zone
(Firewall, Web Servers)
Wireless Network
Card
Wireless Laptop
Wireless Phone
Wireless PDA
Internal
Network
Internal Network
Wireless Networks
Wireless Network Standards
Bluetooth
Intended as a replacement for cables over shorter
distances, with an effective range of up to 10 meters.
1 Mbps Date Rate
2.4 GHz Frequency Band



802.11b
Extension to 802.11 Wireless LAN standard
11 Mbps Data Rate
2.4 GHz Frequency Band
Digital Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Wireless Networks
Wireless Network Standards
802.11a
Extension to 802.11 Wireless LAN standard
54 Mbps Data Rate
5 GHz Frequency Band
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)



802.11g
Replacement for 802.11b with higher rate
54 Mbs Data Rate
2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Frequency Bands

Wireless Networks
Wireless Networks
802.11 Standards Comparison



Wireless
Standard
802.11b 802.11a 802.11g
Popularity Widely Adopted Not Very Popular Widely Adopted
Speed 11 Mbps 54 Mbps 54 Mbps
Cost Inexpensive More Expensive Inexpensive
Frequency 2.4 GHz 5 GHz 2.4 GHz
Range 300 1750 ft 60 100 ft 100 150 ft
Public Access
Hotspots available
at most airports,
colleges and some
restaurants and
coffee shops
None
Hotspots readily
available
Compatibility 802.11b 802.11a
802.11b
802.11g
Comparison Data From http://www.linksys.com/edu/wirelessstandards.asp
Wireless Networks
Other task groups:

802.11e Quality of Service
802.11n 100mb over Wireless
802.11s Mesh Networks (Self Healing)
802.11r Fast Hand-off Re-association from AP to
AP
802.11p Wi-Fi in moving vehicles

Wireless Security
Wireless Security
There are numerous risks associated with wireless
technology that could potentially be detrimental to
an organization and its wireless infrastructure.

These risks can be categorized into 6 classes:
Eavesdropping;
Transitive Trust;
Impersonation or masquerading;
Denial of Service;
Infrastructure;
Device vulnerability;
802.1x Access Control
Complete and published standard for controlled port access
Dynamically generated, session based WEP keys
Both session & packet authentication
User oriented authentication support
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) an extension to
RADIUS servers enabling wireless client authentication to the
wired LAN.
Several vendors, like Cisco and 3Com, have already begun
measures to ensure their implementations comply with the
latest draft of 802.1x standards

802.11i Security
100% focus on security
Standard completed
Provides extensions to current WEP requirements
Authentication algorithm yet to be determined
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) - block cipher encryption algorithm

Wireless Security
Wireless Security
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is the standard for WLAN encryption
It is not widely used (50% of networks dont use it)
Easily broken
It uses shared keys

For more details on WEP Cracking see the paper by Scott Fluhrer, Itsik
Mantin, and Adi Shamir.
http://www.drizzle.com/%7Eaboba/IEEE/rc4_ksaproc.pdf

Newer WLAN equipment will support Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
standards
Subset of WLAN security standards based on 802.11i working group
WPA TKIP Changing of keys
WPA2 - Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
Problems with WEP
1. WEP is hardly used!



In this scan done
recently on my way
to work only 15 of
the 45 access points
detected used WEP.

Thats only 33%.

Note: Some of these
networks may
actually use other
methods of
encrypting data such
as VPN

Problems with WEP
2. WEP Can Be Cracked

The IV is sent as plaintext with the encrypted packet. It can be
sniffed.
XOR is a simple process that can be easily used to deduce any
unknown value if the other two values are known
The first byte of transmitted data is always the same, giving an
attacker knowledge of both the plaintext and ciphertext.
(The SNAP header, which equals AA in hex or 170
decimal.)
A certain format of IVs are known to be weak. By targeting
attacks on packets with weak IVs the amount of data and analysis
needed to derive the shared key is greatly reduced.
By combining the above observations about the implementation
of WEP, hackers have developed tools that can obtain the shared
key after collecting approximately 500,000 to 2,000,000 packets
with < 1 minute cracking time.
Problems with WEP
3. WEP uses a Shared Key

Using shared keys is impractical on large networks
Key management is very difficult (Difficult to ensure keys can be
periodically changed)
Knowledge of the shared key is disseminated
Inevitably someone will incorrectly configure a wireless device

Index
Network
Type ESSID
BSSID (MAC
address) Channel Cloaked WEP
Data
Rate
Max Signal
Strength
1 Access Point <no ssid> 00:01:xx:xx:xx:xx 11 No Yes 11 62
2 Access Point <no ssid> 00:01:xx:xx:xx:xx 0 No No 0 69
3 probe wlan 00:01:xx:xx:xx:xx 0 No No 11 71
4 probe wlan 00:01:xx:xx:xx:xx 0 No No 11 73
5 unknown wlan 00:01:xx:xx:xx:xx 0 No No 11 60
6 unknown !OUxxxxxx 00:40:xx:xx:xx:xx 6 No No 11 71
WPA Security
WiFi Protected Access (WPA) originally a temporary answer to flaws in
WEP. At the heart of WPA is TKIP (Temporary Key Integrity Protocol) which
uses re-keying to get away from the problems inherent in static WEP.
WPA Security
Adds authentication through one of two methods
1) Pre-shared Key (PSK), which is similar to WEP, fine for small networks
2) 802.1x authentication, uses a backend authentication server such as
RADIUS
Top 8 Security Issues with 802.11
Wireless Lan Vulnerabilities
Subtopics
Detection
Eavesdropping
Modification
Injection
Hijacking
WLAN Architecture
Radio Frequency
Management
Corporate
Intranet
Internet
Detection & Eavesdropping
Detection
WLAN will generate
and broadcast
detectable radio
waves for a great
distance
Eavesdropping
WLAN signals
extend beyond
physical security
boundaries
Eavesdropping
Service Set Identifier (SSID) may be broadcasted.
SSID string may identify your organization.
Eavesdropping
Standard Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
encryption is often not used.
When used, WEP is flawed and vulnerable.
No user authentication in WEP.
Clear Text Passwords
IP Addresses
Company Data
Modification, Injection & Hijacking
Modification
Standard Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
encryption has no effective integrity protection.
Injection
Static WEP keys can be determined by analysis.
Adversaries can attach to the network without
authorization.
Hijacking
Adversaries can hijack authenticated sessions
protected only by WEP.
Security Architecture


Firewall
Internal Network
Internet
DMZ
WLAN Architecture
Rogue AP


Radio Frequency Management
Poor RF management
will lead to
unnecessary
transmission of your
RF signal into
unwanted areas.
Also consider other
devices which may
cause interference.
Building A
Parking Lot
Wireless LAN Security Controls
Subtopics
1. SSID Broadcasting
2. MAC Address Filtering
3. Security Architecture
4. Radio Frequency Management
5. Encryption
6. Authentication
7. New Wireless LAN Security Protocols
SSID Broadcasting
Disable the broadcasting of the SSID.
Not possible on all Access Points
Easily bypassed
Only useful on low-value networks
SSID should also not be easily correlated to
your organization name
MAC Address Filtering
Some Access Points allow the administrator
to specify which link layer (MAC) addresses
can attach.
Easily bypassed
Does not scale
Only useful for low-value networks
Security Architecture



Firewall
Internal Network
Internet
DMZ (VPN Server)
DMZ (VPN Server)
Firewall
Radio Frequency Management


Building A
Parking Lot
Use a scanner to determine your
RF footprint
Monitor interference sources
Wireless Encryption
Static WEP keys are insufficient for many
networks
New secure protocols exist for WLAN
protection
Layered VPN is a common solution for WLAN
networks



Subtopics
Wireless LAN Security Mechanisms:
Access Control
Authentication
Encryption
Integrity

802.11 Wireless LAN Security Protocols:
802.1X / Dynamic WEP
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)
Authentication
Wireless LAN needs an authenticated key exchange
mechanism
Most secure WLAN implementations use Extensible
Authentication Protocol (EAP)
Many EAP methods are available
One factor include EAP-MD5, LEAP, PEAP-MSCHAP,
TTLS-MSCHAP, EAP-SIM
Two factor methods include EAP-TLS, TTLS with
OTP, and PEAP-GTC
Need mutual authentication
Encryption
Static WEP
Dynamic WEP
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)
Uses RC4 Stream Cipher with 128 bit per-packet
keys
Counter-Mode-CBC-MAC Protocol (CCMP)
Uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with
128 bit keys
Integrity Protection
WEP has no cryptographically strong integrity
protection
TKIP uses a new Message Integrity Code
called Michael
CCMP uses AES in CBC-MAC mode
802.11 Security Solutions
802.1x
Dynamic WEP
Wi-Fi
Protected
Access
Wi-Fi
Protected
Access 2
Access Control 802.1X 802.1X or Pre-
Shared Key
802.1X or Pre-
Shared Key
Authentication EAP methods EAP methods
or Pre-Shared
Key
EAP methods
or Pre-Shared
Key
Encryption WEP TKIP (RC4) CCMP (AES
Counter Mode)
Integrity None Michael MIC CCMP (AES
CBC-MAC)
Tools and Techniques
Hacker Tools and Techniques
Discovery

Association Polling
Set SSID to Any on Client
Card automatically associates with the strongest AP
Default setting for most wireless clients

* Reason that Fake APs are a threat to unsuspecting clients

Scan Mode Polling
Send a Scan Request to the card, receive a Scan response back with AP info
Card keeps track of received beacon packets and probe requests
Will detect both APs as well as adhoc networks
Will only detects Access Points that are configured to Beacon the SSID
Technique used by Netstumbler



Hacker Tools and Techniques
Discovery

Monitor Mode Protocol Analysis
Sets card into monitor mode and analyzes beacons and probes
Will detect closed APs & wireless nodes
Allows access to information such as SSID, Authentication Mechanisms,
Encryption Types, Speeds, etc.
Used by tools like Kismet
Hacker Tools and Techniques
Discovery Tools

Netstumbler
Latest version of NetStumbler requires Windows 2000, Windows XP, or
better.
The Proxim models 8410-WD and 8420-WD are known to work. The
8410-WD has also been sold as the Dell TrueMobile 1150, Compaq
WL110, Avaya Wireless 802.11b PC Card, and others.
Most cards based on the Intersil Prism/Prism2 chip set also work.
Most 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g wireless LAN adapters should
work on Windows XP. Some may work on Windows 2000 too. Many of
them report inaccurate Signal strength, and if using the "NDIS 5.1"
card access method then Noise level will not be reported.
Hacker Tools and Techniques
Discovery Tools

Kismet
Runs on Linux
Cards must be capable of running in RF-Monitor Mode
Can also be setup with drones to use it as a wireless intrusion
detection solution.
Summary Best Practices
Summary Best Practices
Understand and respect the fact that WLANs are difficult to manage
Implement WLAN policies and management processes
Treat your WLAN like the Internet and run a VPN connection over it
Change the default vendor-set SSID for access points and for WLAN
terminals
Use Port access-control to protect WLANs from unauthorized access
Use at least WEP encryption (128-bit ), and some other access control
mechanism (RADIUS)
Ensure that access points are not broadcasting their SSIDs
Scan for, and make it known to employees that they are not permitted
to install rogue access points
Utilize WLAN network cards that support password-protection of
attribute changes
Deploy real-time, content-level security measures (such as antivirus
firewalls) in conjunction with each WLAN access point
Deployment Considerations
Site Survey Think vertical and horizontal!

Layer Security
Secure Access Point
Use Secure Protocols (802.1x, IPSEC, SSL, etc)
Access Controls

Logging, Monitoring, and Alerting Mechanisms
How do you know you are being attacked?

Education and Awareness