Why are wireless networks susceptible to sniffing?
2.
List the most important steps to secure Bluetooth.
3.
Compare WPA Enterprise and WPA Personal in terms of their level of security and their target markets.
Answers
1.
Wireless networks are susceptible to sniffing because they use shared bandwidth. Every user can "see" every other user's network traffic. This is different from a wired Ethernet network where a switch directs traffic to a specific device. Wireless networks are also susceptible to sniffing because the wireless signal can travel relatively long distances to areas that may be outside the perimeter of a wired network (to a parking lot, for example). Wireless sniffing tools such as Ethereal and Kismet are readily available. Networks that use WEP are susceptible to sniffing because the encryption key is crackable. Newer security standards use strong encryption and can require user authentication; thus, they aren't as susceptible to sniffing.
2.
For really paranoid users, you can completely disable Bluetooth. Assuming that this solution is not desirable, the other options for Bluetooth security are to disable discoverability and Internet access via Bluetooth, and to disable Bluetooth file transfer and exchange until they are needed. You should also require pairing for file transfer and exchange.
3.
WPA Enterprise and WPA Personal both offer good security because they support strong encryption with TKIP. WPA Enterprise offers better security, however, because every user has a unique user name and password. WPA Personal uses a shared key that attackers could learn by asking users or by stealing a laptop. WPA Enterprise offers better management for large wireless installations. For enterprises with many access points and users who roam from one access point to another, a centralized database of users, which is possible with WPA Enterprise, simplifies management. The major downside of WPA Enterprise is that the user database resides on a RADIUS server. Configuring and managing a RADIUS server is too complicated for most home users and small business network administrators. For that reason, the market for WPA Enterprise is enterprises and companies with five or more wireless users.
