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Hacking For Beginners – Manthan Desai 2010
WEP key encryption
The IEEE 802.11b standard defines an optional encryption scheme called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), which creates a
mechanism for securing wireless LAN data streams. WEP was part of the original IEEE 802.11 wireless standard. These
algorithms enable RC4-based, 40-bit data encryption in an effort to prevent an intruder from accessing the network and
capturing wireless LAN traffic.
WEP’s goal is to provide an equivalent level of security and privacy comparable to a wired Ethernet 802.3 LAN. WEP uses a
symmetric scheme where the same key and algorithm are used for both encryption and decryption of data. WEP is
disabled by default on most wireless network equipment.
Wireless security Overview
Two methods exist for authenticating wireless LAN clients to an access point: Open system or Shared key authentication.
1. Open system does not provide any security mechanisms but is simply a request to make a connection to the network.
2. Shared key authentication has the wireless client hash a string of challenge text with the WEP key to authenticate to
the network.
Wireless Attacks
Broadcast Bubble :
One of the problems with wireless is that the radio waves that connect network devices do not simply stop
once they reach a wall or the boundary of a business. They keep traveling into parking lots and other
businesses in an expanding circle from the broadcast point, creating a ‘bubble’ of transmission radiation.
This introduces the risk that unintended parties can eavesdrop on network traffic from parking areas or any
other place where a laptop can be set up to intercept the signals.
War Driving :
War Driving is finding out the Wireless Networks present around the Wireless Card. common war driving
exploits find many wireless networks with WEP disabled and using only the SSID for access control. This
vulnerability makes these networks susceptible to the parking lot attack, where an attacker has the ability to
gain access to the target network a safe distance from the building’s perimeter.
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