Your 80211 wireless network has no clothes

TLDR

Wireless networks have grown explosively, mirroring the Internet’s rapid expansion, prompting organizations to rely on firewalls to safeguard internal resources. We contend that the wireless access points currently deployed pose a greater security threat than early Internet connections. Our solution requires no changes or additions to existing wireless equipment, is easily deployed, and remains transparent to end users. Vendor claims of adequate security are misleading; the mechanisms in current access points are ineffective, leaving organizations vulnerable to unauthorized use and access of internal infrastructure.

Abstract

The explosive growth in wireless networks over the last few years resembles the rapid growth of the Internet within the last decade. To protect internal resources, organizations usually purchased and installed an Internet firewall. We believe that the currently deployed wireless access points present a larger security problem than the early Internet connections. A large number of organizations, based on vendor literature, believe that the security provided by their deployed wireless access points is sufficient to prevent unauthorized access and use. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. While the current access points provide several security mechanisms, our work combined with the work of others show that all of these mechanisms are completely ineffective. As a result, organizations with deployed wireless networks are vulnerable to unauthorized use of, and access to, their internal infrastructure. We present a novel solution that requires no changes or additions to any deployed wireless equipment, and is easily deployed and transparent to end users.