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Reality Check – Wireless Lessons from the Real-World

Debunking Wireless Myths Part 2: Wireless Networks are Intrinsically Insecure
By Larry Allhands – Apprion Wireless Advisor

Wireless Myth: Using "wireless LAN best practices" such as SSID suppression, MAC address filtering, Static IP address schemes and RF signal suppression make my network even more secure.

Status: False

Details: Many so called wireless experts would have you believe that using widely published "wireless LAN best practices" in conjunction with 802.11 wireless security measures will make your network even more secure by making it harder to detect or creating multi-layered security. These practices include:

  • SSID suppression
  • MAC address filtering
  • Static IP address schemes
  • RF signal suppression or shaping
The fact is that an experienced hacker using freely available hacking tools will automatically defeat these measures in a matter of seconds. In reality, there is no layered security and these measures only create a false sense of security and cost valuable IT resources.

In addition to this, SSID suppression can make your wireless network less secure because it forces your wireless clients to actively probe for the SSID, broadcasting continuously wherever you go. This can make you vulnerable to an evil twin attack or data seepage, which gives valuable information that can be used by a hacker in social engineering.

Solution: Don't waste time or resources on these "wireless LAN best practices", they will not help secure your network, and may even make your network less secure in the end.

Larry Allhands - Apprion Wireless AdvisorLarry Allhands is a Senior Systems Architect at Apprion. Larry has over eight years experience designing and deploying high security wireless networks for municipal law enforcement and industrial environments. He was the primary design architect of the security model accepted by the California Department Of Justice for running highly sensitive Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) data over wireless 802.11b and CDMA connections in 2002.

 

Wireless Resources
Apprion White Paper:
Addressing NERC Compliance

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Apprion White Paper:
Apprion Industrial Wireless for Energy Efficiency

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Apprion Webcasts
Energy Efficiency and Industrial Wireless
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North American Reliability Council – Critical Infrastructure Protection
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Industrial Wireless News – July 2009

 
About Apprion
Apprion delivers wireless application networks and services for the process manufacturing industry. These wireless application networks are based on Apprion's ION System – the first and only open, scalable, and extensible foundation for managing and integrating multi-vendor wireless devices and applications.

Whether it is the need to address safety or security concerns, reduce maintenance or material costs, or improve productivity or asset utilization, a wireless application network from Apprion will assure that any wireless application is easier to deploy and manage while delivering value faster, more efficiently. For more information, visit www.apprion.com.

Apprion and all other Apprion Inc. product or service names are trademarks of Apprion Inc. in the USA and other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright 2009 Apprion Inc. All rights reserved.