Having Confidence in Your Wireless Security

Every day that goes by, the importance of wireless security to an organization's daily operations grows. The increasing demand for trustworthy security is caused by a number of issues. With the release of Wi-Fi 6, many businesses are moving away from a mostly wired infrastructure and toward one that emphasizes worker mobility via wireless access. Increasing wireless traffic gives hackers more opportunity and a broader attack surface, despite the obvious CAPEX and OPEX reductions.

Wireless Security's Challenges

Wireless security is a challenge because communications can be passively intercepted. For instance, a 4-way handshake occurs when a client connects to an access point using WPA-PSK. Due to the handshake's wireless nature, an attacker can passively listen in and record it. Passive capture cannot be detected or prevented because to the nature of wireless communications.

The fact that wireless communications can be passively intercepted makes wireless security difficult. For instance, a four-way handshake occurs when a client connects to an access point using WPA-PSK. An attacker can passively listen in and record this handshake because it takes place wirelessly. Passive capture cannot be detected or prevented because of the nature of wireless communications.

The attacker's next move is to try to crack the passphrase by using offline resources to perform a wordlist attack or brute force the handshake. The attacker can then connect to the access point in its place by de-authenticating the original client using this passphrase.

Passive listening prevents an attacker from affecting the network when utilizing sophisticated authentication methods like WPA2 or WPA3 with 802.1x, which are frequently used in business networks. However, attackers are also improving their instruments and techniques. For instance, every wirelessly enabled device is at risk due to a new set of vulnerabilities known as Frag Attacks that affect every Wi-Fi protocol, from WEP to WPA3.

Passive listening prevents an attacker from having any influence over the network when utilizing sophisticated authentication methods like WPA2 or WPA3 with 802.1x, which are frequently used in business networks. Attackers are, however, also improving their instruments and techniques. For instance, all Wi-Fi protocols, from WEP to WPA3, are vulnerable to a new set of flaws known as Frag Attacks, which puts all wirelessly equipped devices at danger.

Advanced Security Against Advanced Threats

With the help of Cisco's completely infrastructure-integrated Advanced Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (aWIPS) and Rogue Management, radio spectrum is continuously monitored in order to identify, evaluate, and block attacks. Through the integration of signature-based methodologies, traffic analysis, and anomaly detection, the aWIPS and Rogue Management solution offers an easy-to-use Wi-Fi threat detection and prevention system that addresses the crucial security requirements of contemporary networks.

Securing the Future

The need to maintain the network safe is becoming more and more important as the workforce becomes more mobile. For enterprises to maintain peace of mind both today and in the future, they require a security solution they can trust.