Wireless Technology Security Report: Threats and Solutions

This report provides an overview of wireless technology security, defining it as the prevention of unauthorized access or damage to systems and information on wireless networks. It highlights common security measures like WPA and WEP, emphasizing their role in encrypting and securing communications. The report addresses the problem statement, noting the vulnerability of wireless networks to hacking and the importance of establishing effective security policies. It discusses the relevance and significance of wireless technology security, focusing on devices like routers and switches that encrypt and protect wireless data. The report also covers wireless intrusion detection and prevention systems. Key concepts such as WEP and WPA standards are explained, with WPA2 being the current standard. Furthermore, the report outlines common enterprise wireless security policies, including wireless intrusion detection systems. It also provides practical steps for enhancing home wireless security, such as making the network invisible, renaming the network, encrypting traffic, changing admin passwords, keeping software updated, and checking with the ISP for security options. The report concludes by referencing key sources to support the information presented.

Running head: WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
Name of the Student
Name of the Organization
Author Note

1WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
Introduction
Wireless technology security is defined as the prevention of any kinds of access or
damage to the systems or information which are unauthorized by utilizing the wireless networks.
Some of the most common types of wireless security are WPA or Wi-Fi Protected Access and
WEP or Wired Equivalent Privacy. The main purpose of the study is to develop a concept on the
wireless technology security. It can also be considered as a subset of the security of network
which is capable of adding protection for a wireless network of computer. Such a security is
delivered with the help of some wireless devices like a wireless switch or router which is capable
of encrypting as well as securing all communications which are wireless by default.
Problem Statement
Wireless networking is seen to have been prone to several issues of security. Hackers
have been able to found that wireless networks are easier to break into and uses wireless
technology for hacking into the networks which are wired (Jing et al., 2014). Therefore, it is very
much important for the enterprises in defining effective wireless technology security policies for
guarding against access to important resources which are unauthorized.
Relevance and Significance
Wireless technology security is capable of primarily protecting a wireless network from
any type of attempts of access which are both unauthorized as well as malicious (Borgohain,
Kumar & Sanyal, 2015). The security of wireless technology is offered through devices which
are mainly wireless like a switch or a router. These devices just encrypts and protects wireless

2WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
sharing of information by default. Even if the security of wireless technology is compromised,
the hackers are unable to view the traffic or the packet content in transit (Pathan, 2016).
Detection of wireless intrusion and systems of prevention also helps in protecting a wireless
network by directly giving alerts to the administrator of the wireless network in case of any kind
of security breach (Osseiran, Monserrat & Marsch, 2016). Both WEP and WPA are common
algorithms or rather standards which are capable of ensuring wireless technology security. It has
been observed that WEP is a bit weak standard of security as the password which it uses can be
cracked within a few minutes with a variety of available tools of software. On the other hand,
WPA is a much quicker alternative for improving the security over WEP. The recent standard
which is being used is WPA2 but some of the hardware cannot support SWPA2 if upgrade of
firmware is not done. It can be used as a device of encryption which can encrypt the network
with the help of a key of 256 bit. Longer is the length of the key, more is the improvement over
WEP (Rhodes-Ousley, 2013). . Some of the most common policies of wireless security within
enterprises include Wireless Prevention Systems or Wireless Detection Systems of Intrusion.
While using wireless technology, it is to be known that there are several wireless threats
at home which may be encountered. Some of them are piggybacking, wardriving or any other
unauthorized access of computer. For providing wireless technology security several steps are to
be undertaken. They are:
Wireless Network made invisible: It is very much important to keep the wireless network
invisible to others (Xiao, 2016). . This is done by seeing the user manual of access point for
instructions on making the identifier broadcasting disabled.

3WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
Renaming the wireless network: It is very much important to rename the default name with
such a name which cannot be guessed easily. This will help in preventing an unauthorized access
to the network.
Encryption of Network Traffic: The access point device which is wireless must allow
encryption of passing traffic in between the device and the customers. With the help of such an
encryption, wireless traffic is being converted into a code which can be understood only with an
appropriate key to that particular code.
Changing the password of the Admin: All the default passwords are needed to be changed and
the new password must be long and must comprise several characters which are non-
alphanumeric. It should not contain any type of personal information like birthdate, name or birth
year. Such a password will prevent any kind of unauthorized access to the wireless network.
Keeping the software of access point both patched and up to date: It is very much important
to check the website of the manufacturer regularly for any kind of updates for the software of the
device.
Checking the wireless security options of the IP: The ISP may give information regarding
securing the wireless network at home. Therefore, it is essential to check the support area of the
customer of the website of the provider or rather contact the customer support group of the
provider.

4WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY SECURITY
References
Borgohain, T., Kumar, U., & Sanyal, S. (2015). Survey of security and privacy issues of internet
of things. arXiv preprint arXiv:1501.02211.
Jing, Q., Vasilakos, A. V., Wan, J., Lu, J., & Qiu, D. (2014). Security of the Internet of Things:
perspectives and challenges. Wireless Networks, 20(8), 2481-2501.
Osseiran, A., Monserrat, J. F., & Marsch, P. (Eds.). (2016). 5G mobile and wireless
communications technology. Cambridge University Press.
Pathan, A. S. K. (Ed.). (2016). Security of self-organizing networks: MANET, WSN, WMN,
VANET. CRC press.
Rhodes-Ousley, M. (2013). Information security: the complete reference. McGraw Hill
Education.
Xiao, Y. (Ed.). (2016). Security in sensor networks. CRC Press.