Building secure wireless networks with 802.11

Provides a step-by-step approach for planning and implementing a wireless LAN based on 802.11 Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) technology Authors are Wi-Fi security experts who are able to address the firestorm of concerns about security for 802.11b networks Offers a clear perspective of interoperability with related wireless standards like 802.11a, HomeRF, and Bluetooth Explains how to achieve the same performance as a wired Ethernet connection and deliver flexibility and high speed

Author Notes

Jahanzeb Khan is Principal Engineer with RSA Security, Inc.
Anis Khwaja works in the IT department of a leading financial services firm

Acknowledgments	p. xiii
About the Authors	p. xv
Introduction	p. xvii
Part 1 Introduction to Wireless Local Area Networks (LANs)	p. 1
Chapter 1 Networking Basics	p. 3
Development of Computer Networks: An Overview	p. 4
Network Types	p. 8
Peer-to-Peer Networks	p. 8
Local Area Networks (LANs)	p. 9
Wide Area Networks (WANs)	p. 9
Personal Area Networks (PANs)	p. 11
The Internet	p. 11
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)	p. 12
Network Topologies	p. 13
Three Commonly Used Topologies	p. 13
Choosing the Right Topology	p. 15
Network Hardware and Software	p. 17
Networking Components	p. 17
Networking Software	p. 28
Networking Protocol: TCP/IP	p. 28
Putting It All Together	p. 32
Summary	p. 33
Chapter 2 Wireless LANs	p. 35
Evolution of Wireless LANs: An Overview	p. 36
A Basic Wireless LAN	p. 37
Basic Architecture of a Wireless LAN	p. 39
Wireless LAN Adapters	p. 40
Access Points (APs)	p. 47
Wireless LAN Configurations	p. 49
Ad-Hoc Mode	p. 49
Infrastructure Mode	p. 49
Distribution Service Systems (DSSs)	p. 50
Existing Wireless LAN Standards	p. 51
IEEE 802.11	p. 52
IEEE 802.11b	p. 52
IEEE 802.11a	p. 52
HomeRF	p. 52
Bluetooth	p. 53
Are Wireless LANs Risks to Health?	p. 53
Security Risks	p. 53
Summary	p. 54
Chapter 3 The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Standards	p. 55
History of IEEE	p. 56
IEEE 802 Wireless Standards	p. 56
The 802.11 Working Group	p. 57
The 802.15 Working Group	p. 57
The 802.16 Working Group	p. 58
The 802.11 Family of Standards	p. 58
The 802.11 Standard Details	p. 59
802.11 Security	p. 61
Operating Modes	p. 62
Roaming	p. 63
The 802.11 Extensions	p. 64
802.11b	p. 64
802.11a	p. 66
802.11g	p. 68
802.11 Shortcomings	p. 69
Wireless Standards Comparison	p. 69
Summary	p. 70
Chapter 4 Is Wireless LAN Right for You?	p. 71
Benefits of Wireless LANs	p. 72
Deployment Scenarios	p. 73
Small Office Home Office (SoHo)	p. 73
Enterprise	p. 74
Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs)	p. 75
Costs Associated with Wireless LANs	p. 78
SoHo	p. 79
Enterprise	p. 79
WISPs	p. 79
Deployment Issues	p. 79
SoHo	p. 80
Enterprise	p. 80
WISPs	p. 80
Security	p. 81
Health Concerns	p. 81
Summary	p. 81
Part 2 Secure Wireless LANs	p. 83
Chapter 5 Network Security	p. 85
Network Operational Security	p. 86
Physical Security	p. 87
Common Network Attacks on Operational Security	p. 94
External Network Attacks	p. 94
Internal Network Attacks	p. 101
Network Data Security	p. 103
Resident-Data or File Security	p. 104
Protecting Data Using Cryptographic Primitives	p. 104
Network Data Transmission and Link Security	p. 106
Securing Network Transmission	p. 108
Summary	p. 116
Chapter 6 Securing the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LANs	p. 117
Wireless LAN Security Requirements	p. 118
Wireless LAN Operational Security Requirements	p. 119
Wireless LAN Data Security	p. 122
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 Standard Security	p. 123
Service Set Identifiers (SSID)	p. 123
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Protocol	p. 123
IEEE 802.11 WEP Protocol Weaknesses and Shortcomings	p. 129
The Future of 802.11 Standard Security	p. 131
Common Security Oversights	p. 131
Using Default or Out-of-the-Box Security	p. 131
Using Fixed Shared Keys	p. 132
Using Far-Too-Strong Radio Signals	p. 132
Extending Wireless LAN Security	p. 132
The 802.1X Authentication Protocol	p. 132
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)	p. 136
Securing Wireless LAN	p. 137
User Authentication	p. 138
Data Confidentiality and Privacy	p. 138
Wireless LAN Passwords and Usage Policies	p. 139
Frequent Network Traffic and Usage Analysis	p. 139
Summary	p. 139
Part 3 Building Secure Wireless LANs	p. 141
Chapter 7 Planning Wireless LANs	p. 143
Step 1 Understanding Your Wireless LAN Needs	p. 144
Step 2 Planning the Scope of Rollout	p. 147
Step 3 Performing Site Survey	p. 147
Considering the Geographic Coverage Area	p. 147
Per-Site Security Requirements	p. 148
Profiling Wireless LAN Users and Devices	p. 148
Step 4 Setting Up Requirements and Expectations	p. 149
Network Bandwidth and Speed	p. 150
Coverage Area and Range of Wireless LANs	p. 150
Security	p. 150
Step 5 Estimating the Required Wireless LAN Hardware and Software	p. 150
Basic Wireless LAN Hardware	p. 151
Software	p. 154
Conventional Hardware Requirements for Various Deployment Scenarios	p. 155
Step 6 Evaluating the Feasibility of Wireless LANs and the Return on Investment (ROI)	p. 157
Step 7 Communicating the Final Plan with Higher Executives and Potential Users	p. 158
An Example of Wireless LAN Planning: Bonanza Corporation	p. 158
Step 1 Bonanza Wireless LAN Needs	p. 159
Step 2 Planning the Rollout	p. 160
Step 3 Site Survey	p. 161
Step 4 Setting Up Requirements and Expectations	p. 162
Step 5 Estimating the Required LAN Hardware and Software	p. 163
Step 6 Evaluating the Feasibility of Wireless LANs and Estimating Return on Investment (ROI)	p. 164
Step 7 Communicating the Wireless LAN Deployment Plan with Executives	p. 165
Summary	p. 165
Chapter 8 Shopping for the Right Equipment	p. 167
Making Your Wireless LAN Equipment Shopping List	p. 168
Explore the LAN TechnologiesAvailable in the Market	p. 169
Wireless LAN Technologies	p. 169
Wired LAN Ethernet Equipment Technologies	p. 169
Virtual Private Network (VPN) Gateways and Clients	p. 170
Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) Server	p. 170
Wireless LAN Supporting Operating Systems	p. 171
Major 802.11 Equipment Vendors and their Products	p. 172
Cisco Systems	p. 172
Agere Systems/ORiNOCO	p. 174
Linksys	p. 176
NetGear	p. 178
Xircom/Intel Corporation	p. 180
Decide Your Shopping Parameters	p. 183
Shopping for LAN Equipment	p. 184
Shopping on the Internet	p. 184
Shopping Using Mail-Order Catalogs	p. 185
Shopping at a Local Computer Hardware or Office Supply Store	p. 186
Shopping Tips	p. 186
Summary	p. 187
Chapter 9 Equipment Provisioning and LAN Setup	p. 189
Before We Start	p. 190
Identifying the Wireless LAN Components	p. 190
Wireless LAN Adapters	p. 191
Wireless LAN Access Points (APs)	p. 193
Wireless LAN Antennas	p. 193
Networking Support Servers	p. 194
Setting Up a Wireless LAN for the 802.11 Infrastructure Mode	p. 195
Setting Up a Wireless LAN Access Point	p. 195
Setting Up Wireless LAN Adapters	p. 202
Finishing the Access Point Configuration	p. 210
Testing Your Standalone Wireless LAN	p. 215
Adding More Computers to Your Standalone Wireless LAN	p. 216
Connecting a Wireless LAN to the Internet	p. 216
Using Multiple AP Configurations	p. 218
Overlapping AP Configuration	p. 218
Non-Overlapping AP Configuration	p. 220
Setting Up Wireless LAN for the 802.11 Ad-Hoc Mode	p. 222
Summary	p. 223
Chapter 10 Advanced 802.11 Wireless LANs	p. 225
High Security and Authentication--Enabled 802.11 Wireless LANs	p. 225
The 802.1X Standard	p. 226
Virtual Private Network for Wireless LANs	p. 227
Building a Secure Wireless LAN with 802.1X and VPN Technology	p. 231
Point-to-Point Wireless Connectivity between Two Sites	p. 244
Point-to-Point Wireless Connectivity Requirements	p. 245
Network Configuration	p. 245
Setting Up ORiNOCO Point-to-Point Radio Backbone Kit	p. 246
Securing the Point-to-Point Wireless Connectivity Using VPN	p. 249
Secure Remote Access from a Wireless LAN over the Internet Using VPNs	p. 249
Summary	p. 250
Part 4 Troubleshooting and Keeping Your Wireless LAN Secure	p. 251
Chapter 11 Troubleshooting Wireless LANs	p. 253
Common Problems	p. 253
Hardware Problems	p. 254
Software Problems	p. 256
Handling Bandwidth Congestion Due to Competing Devices	p. 258
Upgrading Wireless LANs	p. 259
Optimizing and Managing the Network Load through Monitoring Wireless LAN Quality	p. 260
Summary	p. 260
Chapter 12 Keeping Your Wireless LAN Secure	p. 261
Establishing Security Policy	p. 262
Understanding Your Security Policy Requirements	p. 262
Creating Security Policy	p. 265
Communicating Security Policy	p. 271
Security Policy Compliance	p. 271
Intrusion Detection and Containment	p. 272
Wireless LAN AP Monitoring Software	p. 272
Intrusion Detection Software	p. 272
Antivirus Software	p. 272
Firewall and Router Logs	p. 273
Network Login and Activity Logs	p. 273
Getting Ready for Future Security Challenges	p. 273
Summary	p. 273
Appendix A Wireless LAN Case Studies	p. 275
Home-Based Wireless LANs: The Khwaja Family Residence	p. 276
Background	p. 276
The Problem	p. 276
The Solution	p. 277
Results	p. 278
Future	p. 278
A Small Corporation Wireless LAN: The Morristown Financial Group	p. 278
Background	p. 278
The Problem	p. 279
The Solution	p. 279
The Results	p. 279
The Future	p. 280
Campus-Wide Wireless LAN: Carnegie Mellon University	p. 280
Background	p. 280
The Problem	p. 281
The Solution	p. 281
The Results	p. 283
Wireless Internet Service Providers: M-33 Access	p. 283
Background	p. 283
The Problem	p. 283
The Solution	p. 284
The Result	p. 286
The Future	p. 286
Appendix B Installing ORiNOCO PC Card Under Various Operating Systems	p. 287
Installing under Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows 2000	p. 287
System Requirements	p. 288
Software Requirements	p. 288
Installation Steps	p. 288
Installing under Windows NT 4.0	p. 294
System Requirements	p. 294
Software Requirements	p. 294
Installation Steps	p. 295
Installing under Mac OS	p. 296
System Requirements	p. 297
Software Requirements	p. 297
Installation Steps	p. 297
Installing under Linux	p. 300
System Requirements	p. 300
Software Requirements	p. 300
Installation Steps	p. 300
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations	p. 305
References	p. 321
Index	p. 323

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