What are wifi attacks?
We can conduct our company operations online without being constrained by cables and wires thanks to the widespread use of the internet. One of the relatively recent technologies that the internet has introduced into our lives is wireless networks. They make our business operations more accessible, mobile, and straightforward. The drawback of wireless networks is that they are significantly more open to intrusion and attacks. Penetration and intrusion attempts that target wireless networks, also known as wireless network assaults, offer significant risks. Attacks on wireless networks try to intercept information delivered across the network or interfere with information flow.
Several wifi attacks are prevailing, and it will discuss the five most dangerous public wifi attacks under this article.
- AirCrack- NG
- Passive Sniffing
- Chowpatty
- Evil Twin
- Man in the middle
AirCrack – NGA software package called Aircrack aids in both attacking and defending wireless networks. Aircrack is a group of tools that serve a particular purpose. It is not a single tool. Among them are a detector, packet sniffer, WEP/WPA cracker, and other devices. Aircrack’s primary objective is intercepting packets and examining their hashes to decrypt the passwords. Nearly all of the newest wireless interfaces are supported by Aircrack. Aircrack runs as an open-source program on Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, OpenBSD, and Windows operating systems. “New generation” is what the “NG” in Aircrack-ng stands for. An older tool named Aircrack has been updated as Aircrack-ng.
Only wireless networks using WPA/WPA2 PSK support AirCrack-NG. PSK stands for “Pre Shared Key.” Wireless networks at home are all PSK-based. The option is to utilize “Enterprise / 802.1x” mode, which necessitates using an authentication service, such as RADIUS, which most home users don’t require. Finding holes in the wireless communication protocol is what AirCrack-NG does. A wireless device joins a wireless network at this stage. AirCrack-NG searches for that exchange during that procedure and will dump the contents to a file for subsequent Brute-Force password cracking use (passed on password lists).
- Passive Sniffing
Monitoring and recording data packets as they move through a network is known as sniffing. Network and system administrators employ sniffers to monitor and analyse network data. Data packets carrying sensitive information, such as passwords and account details, are captured by attackers using sniffers. Sniffers may be installed as hardware or software in the system. A hostile hacker can record and examine all network traffic in a promiscuous mode.
Active and passive sniffing is the two styles of sniffing. The hub-sniffing process operates in the following manner regarding passive sniffing. All machines on the non-switched or unbridged network san observe traffic travelling through it. Sniffers function at the network’s data connection layer. This is referred to as passive because sniffers set up by the attackers wait for data to be transferred and passively gather it.
- Chowpatty
In contrast to AirCrack-NG, Cowpathy is quick. This hack accelerates the acquisition of WPA2 passwords, making it an improved version of AirCrack. Additionally, it can support AirCrack-NG, especially if the hacker is trying to access a particular network like WPN or WPA2. Only these kinds of networks are compatible with cowpaths. How it functions Consider a dictionary of passwords and a boot force attack that uses these various passwords. Hackers frequently use a company to access wifi. The best defence against a Cowpathy exploit is to use a complicated, random password with both digits and symbols.
A rogue wifi access point (AP) that poses as genuine and provides access to sensitive data without the end user’s knowledge is known as an “evil twin attack.” Constructing an evil twin with a smartphone or other internet-capable device, some readily available software, and an attacker is simple.
Attackers established themselves close to an authorised wifi network, allowing their device to learn the service set identification and radio frequency the authorised AP uses. They then broadcast their radio signal using the same name as the actual AP. The evil twin AP appears to the user as a hotspot with a strong password. This is so that they can physically position themselves close to the end user, where the signal is most likely to be the strongest within range. Attackers have not only used the identical network name and configurations as the “good twin” they are impersonating.
End users should only use public wifi networks for web browsing and avoid websites that ask you to divulge critical information to prevent evil twin attacks via fake wifi networks. Employees should always connect to the internet using a virtual private network when using public wifi hotspots to access the internet, such as coffee shops, to offer extra protection for company data.
- Man in the middle
Man-in-the-middle attacks (MITM) are frequent cyber attack that allows attackers to eavesdrop on two targets’ communications. The “man-in-the-middle” attack occurs between two interacting hosts, allowing the attacker to “listen” to a discussion they shouldn’t typically be able to hear.
Taking the proper precautions may make it easier to identify a Man-in-the-Middle attack. If you aren’t actively checking to determine if your communications have been intercepted, a Man-in-the-Middle assault could go undiscovered until it is too late. The best techniques to identify such attacks are often to verify that the page authentication is correct and to put in place some tamper detection. However, additional post-attack forensic analysis may also be required for these actions. It is essential to take precautionary measures before MITM assaults occur rather than attempting to detect them as they do. Maintaining a secure network may depend on your ability to monitor browsing habits and identify potentially dangerous sites.
Man-in-the-middle attacks frequently involve spoofing. RSA-based public key pair authentication can be used at different stages of the stack to help verify that the parties you are communicating with are the parties you intend them to be.
