Wireless intrusion detection technologies to determine friend or foe

摘要

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) allow devices to connect with a useable amount of bandwidth without being networked via a physical connection. Laptop users within range of the WLAN could connect anywhere and be granted instant access to all networking resources. WLANs, which exist over radio waves, have no physical structure and are therefore more vulnerable to tampering. Therefore, security in the WLANs has come under intense scrutiny. Though wireless networks have seen widespread acceptance in the home user markets, widely reported and easily exploited vulnerabilities in the wireless security system have decreased wireless' deployment rate in enterprise environments. While many people don't know exactly what the weaknesses are, most have blindly accepted that wireless networks are inherently insecure and nothing can be done to improve the security level. But this is not true. It is recommended to do the basic effort before coming to a conclusion. This paper addresses the importance of monitoring the wireless networks, and demonstrates how intrusion prevention technology secures the WLANs. Through this paper, we have made an attempt to analyze and asses the performance of some of the wireless intrusion detection tools (Airsnare, Airopeek NX, and AirPatrol Mobile), describe the pros and cons of these tools, and analyze how the network's security level varies with the deployment of these tools. The paper seeks to assist home/enterprise networks in reducing the risks associated with 802.11 wireless local area networks.