A wireless connection is accessible to anybody within the router’s broadcast radius. As a consequence, they are vulnerable to attack. Public hotspots can be found in airports, cafés, and parks, among other places.
In this article, we’ll go through some of the most prevalent ways of finding flaws in wireless network security implementations. We’ll also go over some of the countermeasures you may take to defend yourself from such attacks.
A wireless network is one that connects computers and other devices via radio waves. The implementation is done at the OSI model’s Layer 1 (physical layer). You’ll need a device that can connect to a wireless network, such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. You’ll also need to be inside a wireless network access point’s broadcast range. You can also learn more here by visiting the website. Most devices will show you a list of possible networks if the wireless network option is enabled. If the network isn’t password-protected, all you have to do is click the connect button. If it’s password-protected, you’ll need to know the password to get in.
Authentication for Wireless Networks
Most networks are password-protected since they are easily accessible to anyone with a wireless network-enabled device. Let’s have a thorough look at a few of the popular authentication methods.
- WEP
The abbreviation WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. It was created in accordance with IEEE 802.11 WLAN specifications. Its purpose was to provide the same level of anonymity that wired networks provide. WEP protects data from eavesdropping by encrypting it as it travels over the network.
- Authentication with WEP
Open System Authentication (OSA) – based on the defined access policy, this technique gives access to station authentication requests.
- SKA (Shared Key Authentication)
This method sends the station requesting access to an encrypted challenge. The station responds after encrypting the challenge with its key. Access is given if the encrypted challenge matches the AP value.
- Weakness of WEP
WEP has a number of weaknesses and vulnerabilities in its architecture.
- The packets’ integrity is confirmed using Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC32). Capturing at least two packets can compromise the CRC32 integrity check. To make the packet acceptable to the authentication system, the attacker can modify the bits in the encrypted stream as well as the checksum. As a result, unauthorized network access occurs.
- WEP creates stream ciphers using the RC4 encryption technique. An initial value (IV) and a secret key make up the stream cipher input. The initial value (IV) has a length of 24 bits, whereas the secret key has a length of 40 bits or 104 bits. Both the initial value and the secret might have a total length of 64 or 128 bits. The secret key’s smaller possible value makes it simple to crack.
- Weak Initial value combinations are insufficiently encrypted. As a result, they are at risk of being attacked.
- WEP is password-based, making it susceptible to dictionary attacks.
- The management of keys is ineffective. It’s difficult to change keys, especially on huge networks. There is no centralized key management system in WEP.
- The starting settings can be used again.
WEP has been phased out in favor of WPA due to these security issues.
5. WPA
The abbreviation for WiFi Protected Access (WPA) is WiFi Protected Access. It’s a security standard developed by the WiFi Alliance in response to WEP’s flaws. On 802.11 WLANs, it’s used to encrypt data. Instead of the 24-bits used by WEP, it uses 48-bit Initial Values. It encrypts packets with temporal keys.
Weaknesses of the WPA
- It’s possible to sabotage the collision avoidance system.
- It’s susceptible to denial-of-service (DoS) assaults.
- Passwords are used for pre-shared keys. Dictionary attacks can exploit weak passwords.
WiFi (Wireless) Networks: How to Crack Them
WEP decryption
Cracking is the process of gaining unauthorized access to wireless networks by exploiting security flaws. Exploits on networks that employ WEP to establish security restrictions are referred to as WEP cracking. Cracks can be divided into two categories:
1. Passive cracking– until the WEP security is cracked, this sort of cracking has no influence on network traffic. It’s a challenge to spot.
2.Active cracking– this form of assault causes an increase in network traffic load. When compared to passive cracking, it is much easier to detect. When compared to passive cracking, it is more effective.
Tools for WiFi Password Cracking (WEP Cracking)
Aircrack is a network sniffer and WEP decryption tool. WEPCrack is an open-source WiFi password hacker program for breaking 802.11 WEP secret keys that can be downloaded from http://www.aircrack-ng.org/
WEPCrack is an open-source WiFi password hacker program for breaking 802.11 WEP secret keys. The FMS attack is implemented in this WiFi hacker program for PC. http://wepcrack.sourceforge.net/
Kismet — this online WiFi password hacker identifies both visible and hidden wireless networks, sniffs packets, and detects intrusions. (https://www.kismetwireless.net/)
WebDecrypt is a wifi password hacking application that uses active dictionary attacks to crack WEP keys. For hacking WiFi passwords, it has its own key generator and uses packet filters. http://wepdecrypt.sourceforge.net/
Cracking WPA
For authentication, WPA employs a 256-bit pre-shared key or passphrase. Dictionary attacks and other techniques that might be used to crack passwords are vulnerable to short passwords. To breach WPA keys, utilize the internet WiFi hacker tools listed below.
- CowPatty is a WiFi password cracker that uses a brute force assault to crack pre-shared keys (PSK). http://wirelessdefence.org/Contents/coWPAttyMain.htm
- Cain & Abel is a WiFi hacker for PCs that can decode and capture files created by other sniffing tools like Wireshark. Frames encoded using WEP or WPA-PSK may be found in the capture files. https://www.softpedia.com/get/Security/Decrypting-Decoding/Cain-and-Abel.shtml
Types of Attack in General
- Sniffing is the process of intercepting packets as they travel through a network. Cain & Abel, for example, can be used to decrypt the collected data.
- Eavesdropping on a network and obtaining sensitive information is known as a Man in the Middle (MITM) attack.
- The fundamental goal of a denial of service attack is to deny legitimate users access to network resources. This type of attack can be carried out with FataJack.
Cracking Wireless network WEP/WPA keys
The WEP/WPA keys used to gain access to a wireless network can be cracked. This necessitates the use of software and technology, as well as patience. The success of such WiFi password cracking efforts can also be determined by how active, or idle the target network’s users are.
We’ll supply you with some basic information to get you started. Backtrack is a secure operating system based on Linux. It is built on the Ubuntu operating system. Backtrack includes a number of security features. Backtrack can be used for a variety of tasks, including gathering information, assessing vulnerabilities, and performing exploits.
Backtrack has a number of popular tools, including:
- Metasploit\s
- Wireshark\s
- Aircrack-ng\s
- NMap\s
- Ophcrack
Patience and the materials listed above are required to crack wireless network keys. You’ll need the following tools at the very least.
A wireless network adaptor with packet injection capabilities (Hardware)
1. Kali is a Linux-based operating system. It’s available for download at https://www.kali.org/downloads/.
2. You must be inside the radius of the target network. If the target network’s users are actively utilizing and connecting to it, your chances of breaking it are greatly increased.
3. Understanding Aircrack and its many scripts, you must have sufficient knowledge of Linux-based operating systems.
4. Patience is required because cracking the keys may take some time, depending on a variety of conditions, some of which are beyond your control. Users of the target network actively sniffing data packets is an example of a factor outside your control.
How to Make Wireless Networks More Secure
An enterprise can use the following policies to reduce wireless network assaults.
- Changing the default passwords provided by the hardware
- Activating the authentication system
- Only registered MAC addresses can access the network, limiting access.
- Strong WEP and WPA-PSK keys with a mix of symbols, numbers, and characters lower the probability of dictionary and brute force attacks cracking the keys.
- Unauthorized access can also be reduced with firewall software.
How to Crack a Password on a WiFi Network
We’ll learn how to hack WiFi passwords in this practical scenario. To decipher the stored wireless network passwords in Windows, we’ll use Cain and Abel. We will also share essential information for cracking the WEP and WPA keys of wireless networks.
Step 1: Download the Cain and Abel utility to decode wireless network passwords stored in Windows.
Cain & Abel can be downloaded at the link provided above.
Open Cain and Abel are two brothers.
Step 2) Select Wireless passwords from the Decoders tab.
Make sure the Decoders tab is chosen, then pick Wireless Passwords from the left-hand navigation menu.
Select the plus sign-shaped button.
Step 3) The passwords will be displayed.
If you’ve ever connected to a secure wireless network, you’ll see results that look like the ones below.
Step 4) Obtain the passwords, as well as the encryption type and SSID.
The encryption type, SSID, and password used will all be displayed by the decoder.
Conclusion
Outsiders can view wireless network transmission waves, which poses a number of security problems.
The abbreviation WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. It has security weaknesses that render it more vulnerable to attack than other security systems.
WiFi Protected Access (WPA) is an acronym for WiFi Protected Access. When compared to WEP, it has more security. Intrusion Detection Systems can help identify illegal access.
A solid security policy can aid in network security.
