Chapter 3. Why Is Wi-Fi Vulnerable to Attack?

This chapter begins by asking the questions “Who is likely to attack?” and “What motivates them to attack?” By understanding the enemy, you will be better prepared to set up and evaluate defenses. We look at the technical characteristics that make Wi-Fi LANs especially vulnerable and review different system approaches that have been applied to try to provide security.

Changing the Security Model

The question in the title of this chapter seems too obvious to ask. Everyone knows that Wi-Fi LANs use radio waves, those waves propagate all over the place, and therefore anyone can listen in on your communications. So why have a chapter dedicated to this subject? Well, it's worth spending time looking at the ...

Get Real 802.11 Security: Wi-Fi Protected Access and 802.11i now with the O’Reilly learning platform.

O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.