Chapter 12: Wireless Security and Mobile Devices

5 GHz band

802.11a is the wireless networking standard that supports traffic on the 5 GHz band, allowing faster speeds over shorter ranges.

Initialization Vector (IV)

A data value used to seed a cryptographic algorithm, providing for a measure of randomness.

IEEE 802.11

A family of standards that describe network protocols for wireless devices.

ZigBee

A low-power, personal area networking technology described by the IEEE 802.15.4 series.

Mobile Device Management (MDM)

A marketing term for a collective set of commonly employed protection elements associated with mobile devices.

Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)

A method of distributing a communication over multiple frequencies to avoid interference and detection.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)

A protocol for transmitting data to small handheld devices such as cellular phones.

Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)

A security protocol used in 802.11 wireless networks.

Beacon Frames

A series of frames used in WiFi (802.11) to establish the presence of a wireless network device.

MIMO

A set of multiple-input and multiple-output antenna technologies where the available antennas are spread over a multitude of independent access points each having one or multiple antennas. This can enhance the usable bandwidth and data transmission capacity between the access point and user.

Near Field Communication (NFC)

A set of standards and protocols for establishing a communication link over very short distances. Used in mobile devices.

Captive Portal

A specific technique of using an HTTP client to handle authentication on a wireless network.

RC4 Stream Cipher

A stream cipher used in TLS and WEP.

Evil Twin

A wireless attack performed using a second, rogue wireless access point designed to mimic a real access point.

IEEE 802.1X

An IEEE standard for performing authentication over networks.

Rogue Access Point

An unauthorized access point inserted into a network allowing unauthorized wireless access.

2.4 GHz band

Bluetooth, a short-range, low-power wireless protocol, transmits in the 2.4 GHz band, the same band used for 802.11. The concept for the short-range (approx. 32 feet) wireless protocol is to transmit data in personal area networks (PANs).

Service Set Identifier (SSID)

Identifies a specific 802.11 wireless network. It transmits information about the access point to which the wireless client is connecting.

Site Survey

Involves several steps: mapping the floor plan, testing for RF interference, testing for RF coverage, and analysis of material via software. It is needed to determine proper access point and antenna placement, as well as channels and power levels.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)

Multiplexes, or separates, the data to be transmitted into smaller chunks and then transmits the chunks on several subchannels. This use of subchannels is what the "frequency division" portion of the name refers to.

Confidentiality

Part of the CIA of security. Refers to the security principle that states that information should not be disclosed to unauthorized individuals.

Remote Wiping

Removes data stored on the device and resets the device to factory settings.

WAP Gap

The confidentiality of information where the two different networks meet, the WAP gateway.

Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS)

The encryption protocol used on WAP networks.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

The encryption scheme used to attempt to provide confidentiality and data integrity on 802.11 networks.

Geo-tagging

The metadata that contains location-specific information that is attached to other data elements.

Jailbreaking

The process of breaking OS security features designed to limit interactions with the OS itself. Commonly performed on mobile phones to unlock features or break locks to carriers.

Bluejacking

The sending of unsolicited messages over Bluetooth to Bluetooth-enabled devices such as mobile phones, tablets, or laptop computers.

WiMax

The set of 802.16 wireless network standards ratified by the WiMAX Forum.

Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2)

The standard for security in wireless networks. It uses 802.1x to provide authentication and uses the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) as the encryption protocol. WPA2 uses the AES block cipher, a significant improvement over WEP's and WPA's use of the RC4 stream cipher. Also known as IEEE 802.11i.

Bluesnarfing

The unauthorized access of information from a Bluetooth-enabled device through a Bluetooth connection, often between phones, desktops, laptops, and tablets.

Bluetooth DOS

The use of Bluetooth technology to perform a denial-of-service attack against another device. In this attack, an attacker repeatedly requests pairing with the victim device. This type of attack does not divulge information or permit access, but is a nuisance. If done repeatedly, it can drain a device's battery, or prevent other operations from occurring on the victim's device.

Bluebugging

The use of a Bluetooth-enabled device to eavesdrop on another person's conversation using that person's Bluetooth phone as a transmitter. The bluebug application silently causes a Bluetooth device to make a phone call to another device, causing the phone to act as a transmitter and allowing the listener to eavesdrop on the victim's conversation in real time.

MAC Filtering

The use of layer 2 MAC addresses to filter traffic to only authorized NIC cards.

Screen Locking

Usually consists of entering a passcode or PIN to unlock the device.