Evil Twin Attack Encryption Wi-Fi Security Protocols Safeguard

Wi-Fi

Security

Agenda

Overview of Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Communication

Security Challenges with Wi-Fi

Demonstration: Evil Twin Attack

Encryption

Wi-Fi Security Protocols

Safeguard Yourself

Questions

What is Wi-Fi?

• Wi-Fi is a wireless networking

technology, based on the IEEE 802.11

standards, that allows devices such as

computers (laptops and desktops),

mobile devices (smart phones and

wearables), and other equipment

(security systems, smart home devices,

cars, TVs, printers, video cameras, etc.)

to interface with a Local Area Network

(LAN) and/or the Internet. (CISCO)

How Does WiFi

Communication

Work?

• Wi-Fi devices use radio waves in

the 2.4GHz or 5GHz band to

transmit and receive data over the

air.

• In essence, Wi-Fi Devices are

Radio Transceivers

• Modern Wi-Fi Devices have the

capability to use either 2.4GHz or

5GHz (dual band) to achieve a

connection.

Frequency

Bands

2.4GHz

5GHz

Pros

• Longer Range

•

Better

transmission

through walls

• Faster speeds

•

Supports

more devices

• Less prone to

interference

Cons

•

Subject to

interference

with other

technology

operating on a

similar

frequency

•

Short Range

•

Does not

travel well

through

obstacles.

How Does WiFi Communication Work?

• The transmission and

receiving of digital

information over the air is

accomplished by a process

called RF Modulation.

• RF modulation transforms

digital data, such as binary

1s and 0s representing an e-

mail message, from the

network into an RF signal

suitable for transmission

through the air.

Hello World!

1001000 1100101 1101100 1101100 1101111 100000

1010111 1101111 1110010 1101100 1100100 100001

Modulator

Amplifier

Antenna

Security Challenges with Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi Piggybacking:

Unauthorized connection to a

Wi-Fi network.

• Commonly occurs in areas

where residences are in

close proximity.

• Open Wi-Fi networks are

most susceptible

• War Driving: A specific

kind of piggybacking where

someone drives around and

maps out where unsecured

networks are around a city

or neighborhood.

Security Challenges with Wi-Fi

Evil Twin Attack: An

Adversary impersonates a

public Wi-Fi access point

and convinces a victim to

connect to the malicious

AP. The adversary can use

this connection to intercept

network traffic or harvest

credentials.

SSID: BestEastern_Hotel

Adversary

Victim

SSID: BestEastern_Hotel_Guest

Security Challenges with Wi-Fi

Wireless Sniffing: Takes

advantage of unencrypted

Wi-Fi communication to

collect network traffic that

may contain information

like access credentials, PII,

and other information

Unsecure Home

Network

The

Adversary

1001000 1100101 1101100 1101100 1101111

100000 1010111 1101111 1110010 1101100

1100100 100001

The Victim

Security Challenges with Wi-Fi

Rogue Access Points: A

rogue access point is an AP

that is connected to a

company’s physical

network infrastructure but

is not under that

company’s administrative

control. (Cisco)

• Could be an Insider

• Could be an Adversary

Adversary Motivations

• Why should you protect yourself against

these types of attacks.?

 People are actively trying to hack

you!

• Financial Gain

• Recognition and Achievement

• Insider Threats

• Political Motivation – “Hactivism”

• State Actors

• Espionage

Demonstration

• The following video is going to depict

what an Evil Twin attack might look like

from the victim and hackers perspective.

• For this demonstration I used a Wi-Fi

Pineapple in a controlled environment for

educational purposes.

• This particular Wi-Fi Pineapple is a

penetration testing tool, designed to test

the security of an organization.

• Warning! The following section

contains tools, tactics, and

techniques that can only be lawfully

used for education and professional

purposes. Using these methods for

any other purpose is punishable

under federal and state law!

Wi-Fi Security Protocols

• Open/Unsecured Wi-Fi

• “When wireless devices in a

network are "open" or unsecured,

they're accessible to any Wi-Fi-

enabled device, such as a computer

or smartphone, that's within range

of their wireless signals.” (Cisco)

• “Using open or unsecured networks

can be risky for users and

organizations. Adversaries using

internet-connected devices can

collect users' personal information

and steal identities, compromise

financial and other sensitive

business data, "eavesdrop" on

communications, and more.” (Cisco)

The Lack of a “Lock” indicator suggests

that this network is open and quite

possibly not secure.

Wireless Security Protocols- Cryptosystem

• Encryption is the process of converting or scrambling data and information into an unreadable, encoded version

that can only be read with authorized access.

• Four basic components of encryption:

• (1) plaintext (non-encrypted message),

• (2) encryption algorithm (works like a locking mechanism to a safe)

• (3) key (works like the safe's combination)

• (4) ciphertext (produced from plaintext message by encryption key).

Encrypted (Ciphertext)

Unencrypted (Plaintext) Message

Decrypted (Plaintext) Message

Key

(dfk49dk4jx0fk5)

Key

(dfk49dk4jx0fk5)

Bob

Access Point

Encryption

Decryption

Wireless Security Protocols- WEP

WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy

• Developed in the late 1990s

• Depreciated in 2004

• Issues:

• Limited Key Length

• Bits of data containing key information are repeated given

enough traffic

• Should never be used – “crackable” in under one minute.

Wireless Security Protocols- WPA1

WPA1 (Wi-Fi Protected Access)

• Released in 2003

• Depreciated in 2009

• Used same encryption algorithm as WEP (RC4)

• Uses Temporal Key Integration Protocol in for

implementing keys, which was an improvement over WEP

• Additional protection with Message Integrity Checks

• Issues:

• Suffered from some of the same vulnerabilities as WEP,

and limitations in Message Integrity Checking, and

therefore should be AVOIDED

Wireless Security Protocols- WPA2

WPA2 (WI-Fi Protected Access)

• Released in 2004

• Still commonly used

• Uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The same

type of encryption used by the US Government.

• Issues:

• In 2017 researchers found that vulnerabilities in the

authentication process could lead to key-reuse.

• Vulnerable to brute force attacks

Wireless Security Protocols- WPA3

WPA3 (WI-Fi Protected Access)

• Announced in 2018

• Longer key length, and better implementation of keys

• Protection against brute force attacks

• Opportunistic Wireless Encryption: supports encryption

on open networks. (coffee shops, hotel wireless, airports.)

• Vulnerabilities/Issues:

• Unpatched clients can be tricked to downgrade to

WPA2,

• Not yet available everywhere (can be costly for large

organizations to implement.

Securing Your Home Wi-Fi Network

• 1. Change your default Wi-Fi

SSID and hide your network.

(turn off network broadcasting)

• 2. Use a strong and unique

password/passphrase greater than

20 characters

• 3.Use the strongest encryption

available on your Wi-Fi router and

devices (WPA2,WPA3)

• 4. Keep your router’s firmware up

to date.

• 5. Change your routers default

admin credentials

Fun SSID Names:

No More Mister Wifi

Bandwidth on the Run

Obi-WLan Kenobi

LAN BEFORE TIME

The Silence of the

LANs

Benjamin FrankLAN

Theodore Routervelt

Safeguard Yourself While Using Public Wi-Fi

• 1. Use a VPN

• 2. Consider using your mobile phone

as a Wi-fi hotspot.

• 3. Disable Auto-connect

• 4. Use HTTPS sites over HTTP

• 5. Use Different passwords for

different accounts.

• 6. Limit the use of sites that require

credentials and contain account

details.

• 7. Implement MFA everywhere

possible!

Recap:

Wi-Fi is a wireless networking technology designed for mobility and

convenience.

Wi-Fi devices are radios

Wi-Fi networking has unique security challenges

Employ encryption methods to protect your data as it travels in the

air

There are many best practices you can employ to secure your

network and yourself.

Thank You!

Works Cited

• “What Is Wi-Fi? - Definition and Types.” Cisco, Cisco, 22 Dec. 2021,

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/what-is-

wifi.html#:~:text=Wi%2DFi%20is%20a%20wireless,to%20interface%20with%20the%20Internet.

• “WIFI Networking: Radio Wave Basics.” Network Computing, 10 Jan. 2019,

https://www.networkcomputing.com/wireless-infrastructure/wifi-networking-radio-wave-basics.

• National Security Agency Cybersecurity Report. https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/what-we-

do/cybersecurity/professional-resources/ctr-uefi-defensive-practices-guidance.pdf. “Security Tip (ST05-

003).”

• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA, https://www.cisa.gov/tips/st05-

003#:~:text=What%20are%20the%20risks%20to%20your%20wireless%20network%3F,Surfing%20...%207

%20Theft%20of%20Mobile%20Devices%20.

• Kaspersky. “WEP, WPA, WPA2 and WPA3: Differences and Explanation.” Usa.kaspersky.com, 21 Sept.

2021, https://usa.kaspersky.com/resource-center/definitions/wep-vs-wpa.

• Kalitut, Not Available. “Rogue AP - Fake Access Points.” KaliTut, 16 June 2020, https://kalitut.com/rogue-

ap-fake-access-points/.

Thank You!

Questions?