Cybersecurity Threats and Vulnerabilities

This assignment provides a comprehensive overview of cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities, including real-world case studies and guidelines for securing wireless local area networks (WLANs), firewalls, and internet of things (IoT) devices. It also discusses the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol and its weaknesses, as well as the importance of unmanaged switches in network security. The assignment covers various topics such as the Mirai botnet, IoT cybersecurity guidelines, and security best practices for small businesses.

CSG3308 Wireless security
Assignment 2 – Wireless Network Audit
Student Number: 10498743
Name of Lecturer: : Loh Kah Yee
Campus: PSB Academy, Singapore
Due Date: 06th April 2020

Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................................2
Wireless Security threats in the given network design...............................................................2
WEP Shared Key.........................................................................................................................3
Wireless Temperature Sensor......................................................................................................3
Cisco ASA 5585-X firewall.........................................................................................................4
Unmanaged switch.......................................................................................................................4
Attack Scenario..............................................................................................................................4
An actual attack based on WEP...................................................................................................5
An attack based on IoT temperature sensor.................................................................................5
Cisco ASA 5585-X firewall.........................................................................................................5
Unmanaged Switch......................................................................................................................6
Wireless network policy................................................................................................................6
Scope............................................................................................................................................6
Policies.........................................................................................................................................6
Countermeasures for the threats identified................................................................................6
WEP Encryption (Wireless).........................................................................................................6
IoT devices...................................................................................................................................7
Gateway firewall..........................................................................................................................8
Unmanaged switch.......................................................................................................................8
Conclusion......................................................................................................................................8
References.......................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
In modern times Wireless Networks have become popular everywhere from business
organizations to individuals. We can point out the significant growth in the use of wireless
networks everywhere. Regardless of size and type of organization, all the sectors are using the
wireless network for its affordability, flexibility, easy to configure function. But when comes to
security there is no single technology with no vulnerability. The same thing applies to wireless
networks also. As technology grows the security threat also grows along with it. So, it’s
important to develop strategies to combat the threats against wireless networks.
Wireless Security threats in the given network design
Figure 1 Given Network Design

The given wireless network design consists of several threats that increase security risks. Since
it's for wireless the top 3 wireless security threats associated with the wireless network are WEP
Shared Key, Wireless Temperature sensor, Cisco ASA 5585-X firewall.
WEP Shared Key
WEP stands for Wired Equitant Privacy. WEP is a security protocol comes under IEEE 802.11
standards (Margaret, 2006). It was originally introduced in 1997. WEP aimed to secure the
wireless network as secure as wired networks. WEP has several security flows and it can be
compromised for several attacks. Some of the attacks are (Issac, n.d.) active attacks to decrypt
the traffic, active attack to inject the packet, and table-based attack (typically uses a decryption
table). Apart from those primary attacks, few other attacks are (Packt, 2015) FMS attacks
(Fluhrer, Mantin, and Shamir) in 2001, PTW attacks (Pyshkin, Tews, and Weinmann) in 2007,
and ARP requested relay attacks. Also, the router model that is in place has been reported (Tom,
2017) that it’s vulnerable for several kinds of attacks including DOS, Authentication bypass.
According to NIST standards 2016 Revision 1, (Paulsen & Toth, 2016) WEP is no longer
considered as a trusted encryption protocol due to its vulnerabilities. So, NIST advised not to use
WEP anymore.
Wireless Temperature Sensor
In recent days usage of sensors has been increased. These sensor devices connected to a
network are called IoT devices (Internet Of Things). These IoT sensors can be used for several
different purposes such as temperature, humidity calculation, vacuum, etc... But these IoT
devices consist of high-security issues which makes them easy to compromise. According to
Netscout’s threat intelligence report (NETSCOUT, 2019), it takes only five minutes to
attack/compromise an IoT device once it is connected to the internet. Also, privacy in IoT
devices is another reason to consider here. So, if an IoT device that is connected to the internet is
compromised then it might lead to the exploitation of the entire network that the device is
connected to.

Cisco ASA 5585-X firewall
The given Cisco ASA 5585-X firewall has several security vulnerabilities reported. According to
the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CISA Cyber + Infrastructure, 2016),
exploitation of these vulnerabilities possible allows a remote attacker to take over the entire
affected system. After the announcement, Cisco has issued several patches for several products.
Since it’s stated that the firmware update date is unknown for their company’s Cisco ASA 5585-
X firewall it’s possible to compromise it.
Unmanaged switch
Unmanaged switches always need careful handling. Because exploiting these switches can be
done easily and will cause severe impact to the organization. Apart from security issues, these
switches cause an impact in the quality of service because unmanaged switches cannot balance
(Scot, 2016) the network traffic properly since no configurations are in place.
Attack Scenario
Screenshot 1 Attack Scenario Diagram
Screenshot 1 shows the attack vectors that are identified. At this point even if anyone
point has been compromised it will impact the entire network. Because all the vectors are
connected at a single center point which is the unmanaged switch.

An actual attack based on WEP
In 2007 TK Maxx security breach was a sensational and well-known one. This breach
also is known as the world’s largest commercial security breach back in time. During this data
breach, the attackers stole 45 million customer records (Espiner, 2007) which include their credit
and debit card details. This data breach led TK Maxx to offer 40.9 Million USD as a settlement
(Espiner, 2007) . When the analysis was done by the organizations the root cause of this data
breach was using WEP. It is reported (Simon, 2007) that Tk Maxx was using WEP and attackers
successfully cracked that and installed the credit harvester software on the company’s systems.
This breach clearly shows how much impact that using WEP can cause to an organization.
An attack based on IoT temperature sensor
IoT based malware campaigns are increasing day by day. A unique breach that suits for
the IoT temperature sensor that is given in this case study happened in 2017. According to the
Dark Trace global threat report 2017 (Dark Trace, 2017) it is stated that hackers exploited a
casino’s fish tank temperature sensor to breach the security. During the data breach 10GB size of
data has been transferred to out of the company’s network. The name and other details of the
casino associated with this incident are not disclosed.
Apart from that specific incident, one more emerging threat that targets the IoT devices is
Mirai It’s (Cloudflare, n.d.) a malware that affects the IoT devices connected through the internet
and turns them into botnets that cybercriminals can utilize. In 2016 October a massive DDoS
attack made the internet not accessible on the USA east coast (Fruhlinger, 2018). Researches
revealed that the DDoS attack caused due to IoT botnet i.e. Mirai. So, securing IoT devices in a
network is crucial to avoid security incidents.
Cisco ASA 5585-X firewall
There are no specific real-world security incidents that happened due to this specific product but
there are a huge amount of vulnerabilities that have been reported for it. According to NIST’s
NVD (National Vulnerability Database) (NVD, n.d.) records, there are 56 CVE’s are published
for this particular product. And the majority of these vulnerabilities allows the external attacker
to perform privilege escalation and take control over it.

Unmanaged Switch
Same as the previous threat there is no specific real-world security incident that happened
only because of an unmanaged switch. Because switches cannot be compromised directly unless
other parts of the infrastructure compromised and then only it is possible to compromise the
switches.
In the given scenario the multiple several vulnerabilities are easy to exploit and then the
unmanaged switch can be compromised easily. Also, due to the nature of the unmanaged
switches, attackers can exploit it very easily.
Wireless network policy
Scope
The wireless policy applies to all areas of wireless connection across the company
network infrastructure and consists of all wireless devices operating within the company IP
range, on any of the company premises, or any remote location connected to the company
network directly.
Policies
 All-access points must stand by all national guidelines concerning to wireless devices.
(National guidelines are the one regulated by the country that the company operates in.
Also, other guidelines such as ISO27001, NIST can be followed)
 Users will be authenticated on the wireless network for each session that they’re
connecting in.
 It is users responsibility that their devices containing up to date antivirus software and
operating system is fully patched.
Countermeasures for the threats identified
WEP Encryption (Wireless)
According to NIST 800-153 (Murugiah & Karen, 2012), the following are some
recommended guidelines for wireless networks that can be act as suitable counter measures,

 Replacing the WEP authentication mechanism with a more advanced security
algorithm such as WPA2.
 Following standardized security configurations for common WLAN components such
as client devices and Access points. (this includes changing default wireless
AP/admin passwords).
 Drafting a clear wireless usage policy across the organization.
 Performing attack monitoring, vulnerability monitoring at the same time to support
security.
 Conducting periodic review/audits on the wireless network.
IoT devices
Since IoT is emerging organizations like NIST haven’t compiled a structured standard for it. But
some other government bodies around the world made some guidelines on IoT devices. The
following are the guidelines made by IMDA Singapore (IMDA, 2020) that can be act as suitable
counter measures,
 Implementing strong cryptography with following specifications
o Usage of approved algorithms
o Sufficient key length
o Recommended crypto period
 All sensitive communications from/to IoT devices must be encrypted.
 Threat modeling should be conducted at the beginning of the implementation stage.
 Roof-of-trust (Provides tamper protected module to establish security mechanisms)
should be established to components like IoT gateways, and IoT platforms.
 Implementation of a secure version of transport protocols. Like usage of TLS while using
MQTT.
 Disabling non authenticated Bluetooth pairing measures.
 Segregating the IoT device if required
 Usage of proper access control with the following specifications
o Changing all default passwords
o Using multi-factor authentication for high impacted remote operations

o Security measure to keep the physical access safe
Gateway firewall
According to NIST 800-41 (Karen & Paul, 2009), the following guidelines are recommended,
 Keeping the hardware/software firewall up to date along with fully patched
 Firewall policy should specify how the firewall going to handle both the inbound and
outbound traffic.
 Periodically reviewing the logs, security alerts and applying appropriate actions on them.
Unmanaged switch
 Properly configuring the switch with security controls
 Applying VLAN control on a switch and segregating the IoT/wireless device.
 Properly updating the patches/firmware.
Conclusion
In cybersecurity, there is no single solution for all the issues rather several protocols can
be applied to reduce the security incidents. This same applies to wireless security also. Due to
emerging and inevitable wireless network benefits, the threats also emerging and specifically
emerging IoT technology comes with more security issues and introducing new vulnerabilities.
Organizations like NIST are currently developing standard strategies to combat the threats and
it’s expected that in the upcoming era the issues can be reduced.

References
CISA Cyber + Infrastructure. (2016). Cisco Releases Security Updates | CISA. Retrieved from
https://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/current-activity/2016/05/04/Cisco-Releases-Security-Updates
Cloudflare. What is the Mirai Botnet?. Retrieved from
https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ddos/glossary/mirai-botnet/
Dark Trace. (2017). Global Threat Report 2017 Selected Case Studies (p. 8). Dark Trace.
Retrieved from https://www.infosecuritynorthamerica.com/__novadocuments/504567?
v=636718219701230000
Espiner, T. (2007). TJX offers US$40.9M settlement over breach | ZDNet. Retrieved from
https://www.zdnet.com/article/tjx-offers-us40-9m-settlement-over-breach/
Espiner, T. (2007). Wi-Fi hack caused TK Maxx security breach | ZDNet. Retrieved from
https://www.zdnet.com/article/wi-fi-hack-caused-tk-maxx-security-breach/
Fruhlinger, J. (2018). The Mirai botnet explained: How IoT devices almost brought down the
internet. Retrieved from https://www.csoonline.com/article/3258748/the-mirai-botnet-
explained-how-teen-scammers-and-cctv-cameras-almost-brought-down-the-internet.html
IMDA. (2020). Guidelines Internet of Things (IoT) Cyber Security Guide. IMDA Iot Cyber
Security Guide V1, V1. Retrieved from
https://www.imda.gov.sg/-/media/Imda/Files/Regulation-Licensing-and-Consultations/ICT-
Standards/Telecommunication-Standards/Reference-Spec/IMDA-IoT-Cyber-Security-
Guide.pdf
Issac, B. (In)Security of the WEP algorithm. Retrieved from
http://www.isaac.cs.berkeley.edu/isaac/wep-faq.html
Karen, S., & Paul, H. (2009). Guidelines on Firewalls and Firewall Policy. National Institute Of
Standards And Technology Special Publication 800-41 Revision 1, Revision 1. Retrieved
from https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-41r1.pdf
Margaret, R. (2006). What is Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)? - Definition from WhatIs.com.
Retrieved from https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/Wired-Equivalent-Privacy

Murugiah, S., & Karen, S. (2012). Guidelines for Securing Wireless Local Area Networks
(WLANs). Recommendations Of The National Institute Of Standards And Technology.
Retrieved from https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-
153.pdf
NETSCOUT. (2019). DAWN OF THE TERRORBIT ERA. doi: SECR_001_EN-1901
NVD. NVD - Results. Retrieved from https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/search/results?
adv_search=true&cves=on&cpe_version=cpe:/
a:cisco:adaptive_security_appliance_software:7.2.3.1
Packt. (2015). What we can learn from attacks on the WEP Protocol | Packt Hub. Retrieved from
https://hub.packtpub.com/what-we-can-learn-attacks-wep-protocol/
Paulsen, C., & Toth, P. (2016). Small Business Information Security: The Fundamentals. doi:
10.6028/nist.ir.7621r1
Scot, W. (2016). The top 5 reasons to avoid unmanaged switches on your machines [Blog].
Retrieved from https://blogs.cisco.com/manufacturing/the-top-5-reasons-to-avoid-
unmanaged-switches-on-your-machines
Simon, A. (2007). Poor Wi-Fi controls and security enabled TK Maxx data theft. Retrieved from
https://www.itpro.co.uk/112465/poor-wi-fi-controls-and-security-enabled-tk-maxx-data-
theft
Tom, S. (2017). 20 Linksys Router Models Vulnerable To Attack. Retrieved from
https://threatpost.com/20-linksys-router-models-vulnerable-to-attack/125085/