Perceptions of Wi-Fi Security Requirements: A Stratified ViewMerrill WarkentinXin (Robert) LuoMississippi State University

The authorsSamuel Luo !

OverviewGrowth in Access Points the problemExisting and emerging protocolsSecurity threatsPerception of Wi-Fi security threatsResearch planDiscussion

Access Points Found(Worldwide Wardrive,2004)Total AP found in WWD4: 228,5371 = Sept 20024 = June 2004

Existing & Emerging Protocols802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11gFour standards for Wireless LANsRanging from 1M to 54M bit/sec.EAP Extensible Authentication Protocol802.11eQoS (quality of service)802.11hPower usage and transmission power802.11nImprove the bandwidth802.11f inter access point802.11sMesh networking802.11rfast roaming

Security Protocols: WEP and WPAWEPrelies on unchanging, shared encryption keysaddresses confidentiality instead of authentication WPA (early version of the 802.11i)includes Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and 802.1x mechanismsprovide dynamic key encryption and mutual authenticationpoorly chosen short human-readable passphrases can be cracked with a robust dictionary attack offline and without access to the network.

Interoperable ProtocolsInteroperability problemCiscos proprietary version of 801.1x authentication--the Lightweight EAP (LEAP) doesnt function with a variety of hardware clients Protected EAP (PEAP) combining an administrator-specified authentication and confidentiality protocol with EAPAdoption problemmost organizations reluctant to embrace standards that have yet to be standardized

Security ThreatsViruses and TrojansEavesdroppingMan-in-the-middle attacksDenial of Service attacks

Top Seven 802.11 Security ProblemsEasy AccessRogue Access PointsUnauthorized Use of ServiceService/Performance ConstraintsMAC Spoofing, Session HighjackingTraffic Analysis and EavesdroppingHigher Level AttacksSource: Bitpipe

IEEE 802.11i Security Protocolratified in June 2004WPA2 with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)address all known WEP deficiencies via a new mode called CCMprovide confidentiality and integritybring stronger encryption reduce key management overhead minimize the time spent computing key schedules (Cam-Winget, 2003)

Wi-Maxbroadband wireless connections over long distancesused for "last mile" broadband connectionshotspot and cellular backhaulhigh-speed enterprise connectivitybased on IEEE 802.16 standardprovides metropolitan area network connectivity at speeds of up to 75 Mb/seccan transmit signals as far as 30 miles (average = 3-5 miles)Source: Intel

Stakeholder Groupsexecutive-level (top) managementIT Directors (CIO, CSO, Netword Admins)staff, end usersother stakeholders? (external)

Research Question: Do they have the same perceptions of Wi-Fi security?

Perceptions of Wi-Fi SecurityIs it safe? Who can read? How to use?Each stakeholder group has influences.Who views as secure?How does this influence actions?

Research Planinvestigate similarities and dissimilarities in terms of perception of wireless security issues among stakeholder groupsdiscuss implications of any differencesresearch methodologylit review, develop research hypothesessurvey pilot study (at MSU)deans, directors, IT directors, faculty, staff, studentssurvey hospitals, hotels, cafes, etc.

Stakeholder Discussion

Warkentin, Merrill and Xin Luo, "Perceptions of Wi-Fi Security Requirements: A Stratified View", 2004 Decision Science Institute (DSI) Annual Meeting, Sessions on Mobile Services and Wireless Networks, Boston, MA, November 2004.WWD4 is available online at http://www.worldwidewardrive.org/index.htmlWe get the stats from here and are comparing WWD4 with previous oneshttp://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/Reports/tgr_update.htmhttp://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/Reports/tgs_update.htmhttp://www.mpirical.com/companion/mpirical_companion.html#http://www.mpirical.com/companion/IP/IEEE_802.11f.htm

Recognizing the need for an interim solution between WEP and 802.11i, the Wi-Fi Alliance released WPA, which is an early version of the 802.11i standard offering improved encryption and authentication. In wireless networks, malicious code has the ability to undermine other security technologies such as signing, authentication, and encryption because it runs resident to the device with all the privileges of the owner (Ghosh et al, 2001). Furthermore, remote electronic eavesdropping (through wardriving or warwalking, for example) is easy to perform and is almost impossible to detect. Easily performed with laptop or PDA device, a Wi-Fi card, and free software, this has become a common practice. Usernames, passwords, and all other transmitted content can be intercepted. A variety of current tools for network sniffers, password collectors, and protocol analyzers are available on the Internet that can decrypt WEP-protected networks in seconds after sniffing a little traffic. Armed with these weapons, eavesdroppers can wireless-tap traffic from a few miles away.Man in the middle (MITM) attacks also allow data analysis and manipulation. In Wireless MITM attack, attacker spoofs a disassociate message from the victim. The victim starts to look for a new access point, and the attacker advertises his own AP on a different channel, using the real APs MAC address, and the attacker connects to the real AP using victims MAC address.In the case of Denial of Service (DoS), a mischievous person can use a wireless client to insert bogus packets into the WLAN with the intent of keeping users from getting access to services and therefore generate frequency jamming. It gives the intruder enough control to keep users from accessing network services for an indefinite period of time.