List of Wireless Network Attacks - Part 2

To gain an understanding of what wireless network attacks are and how they can harm a computer user, click the link below to read the 1st part of the article.

List of Wireless Network Attacks - Part 1

 Once you understand what wireless networks attacks are, it is time to move on in the article to the types of attacks: Access Attacks (explained in part 1), Confidentiality Attacks and Availability attacks (are explained in the next few sections of the article), and Authentication Attacks (which are explained in Part 3).

Note: Each wireless network attack has its own impact on network users' functionabilities. Computer users could help prevent network attacks from occurring by learning something about "Network Security" and the Information Security Concepts: Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, and Authenticity.

Advice: Go to each part in the article to have in-depth knowledge on the topic.

* "Network Security" faces many challenges with several types of attacks (Access Attacks, Confidentiality Attacks, Availability Attacks, and Authentication Attacks). Two of the four type of attacks are explained next.

It does not matter to the attacker whether the packets are sent as plain text or in encrypted form, "Confidentiality Attacks" will intercept the data packets sent over the wireless network.

Types of Confidentiality Attacks:

• Eavesdropping. This is a technique used to intercept unsecured connections in order to steal personal information.

Tools Used: Wireshark, bsd-airtools, Kismet and Ettercap

• Cracking WEP Key. As the name suggests, various different tools are used to capture the WEP key in order to gain access to the wireless network.

Tools Used: Chopchop, WepDecrypt, Aircrack-ng, AirSnort, airway, wesside, WepAttack, dwepcrack and WepLab

• Evil Twin AP. Personating as an authorized access point by directing the wireless LAN’s SSID to ensnare users.

Tools Used: HermesAP, WifiBSD, cqureAP, Rogue Squadron and D-Link G200

• Access Point Phishing. Running a fake web server and acting as an authorized web server in order to steal user credentials, credit card numbers and other personal or financial information.

Tools Used: Hotspotter,Airsnarf, Airpwn, RGlueAP and Karma

• Man-in-the-Middle Attack. It is one of the widely adapted techniques of attackers to intercept secure web connections. A proxy is installed in between the user and the web server, and then the connection is directed to the proxy instead of the web server. However, user is lured to believe that the connection still exists with the web server.

Tools Used: Ettercap-NG, dsniff and sshmitm

Availability attacks are meant to prevent users from getting a response from the web server either by blocking access to the resources or by disabling the resource itself. Different types of availability attacks are:

• Access Point Theft. The attacker removes the access point from the location.

Tools Used: Five finger discount method.

• Queensland DoS. DoS attacks stands for Denial of Service. The attacker exploits the CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Channel Assessment) system and makes the channel appear busy.

Tools Used: An adapter, along with a low-level utility.

• 802.11 Beacon Flood. Generating continuous and enormous beacons making it hard to find a valid access point.

Tools Used: FakeAccessPoint

• Authenticate Flood. The attacker generates fake authenticates from different MAC addresses in order to fill the association table.

Tools Used: Macfld and FATA-Jack

• 802.11 TKIP MIC Exploit. An Attacker exploits the 802.11 by creating fake TKIP’s data and sending them to defer the wireless LAN service.

Tools Used: File2air, LORCON and wnet dinject

• 802.11 De-authenticate Flood. A technique, whereby an attacker creates and sends fake de-authenticate data so that the users connected to an AP are disconnected.

Tools Used: MDK, Aireplay, commercial WIPS, Airforge and void11

• 802.1X EAP-Failure. In this technique, an attacker continuously monitors the EAP station and then sends a fake EAP failure message.

Tools Used: File2air, QACafe and libradiate