Essay on Wi-Fi Security: Strategies to Protect Corporate Networks From Unauthorized Access

Introduction

Wireless security involves designing and implementing strategies to protect wireless networks from unauthorized access. The wireless networks are delivered through wireless devices that encrypt and secure all the networking communication. Wireless networking, like all the other technologies, provides users with external access to corporate networks while presenting security challenges. The networks are prone to threats and vulnerability, which include unauthorized access, traffic monitoring by hackers, and Denial of Service (DoS). Some of the common standards for ensuring wireless security include Wired Equivalent Policy and the Wireless Protected Access. With the wireless networks and standards still evolving, it is vital to know the limitations of the available networks to implement a solution that enhances security. Therefore practices should be adopted to improve security. This paper focuses on discussing the best practices for wireless security.

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Security Threats for the Wireless Networks

The networks are prone to wardriving, which involves accessing connections when one is far using the wireless-equipped computers, which have an antenna for searching unsecured wireless networks. There is also an evil twin attack that works by gathering data regarding a public network access point then the users connecting using the signal. Therefore the attacker can read whatever the victim sends over the internet since they are using the attacker's system. Additionally, there is wireless sniffing, which involves using tools to obtain information such as the passwords and the credit card numbers (Soni, Upadhyay, & Jain, 2017). The unauthorized computer access involves access to vital information on the wireless networks which the user has unintentionally made available for sharing.

Moreover, there is shoulder surfing, which involves stealing vital information when is typing on their devices. The mobile devices may also be stolen, which makes the attackers have unlimited access to all the data, including those connected in the cloud accounts. There is also the denial of service, which interferes with the networking access to various services. The configuration problems also pose a threat as it makes the device lack configuration security. Therefore, anyone can gain access to the network. Other issues include weak passwords and weak security deployments, which make the network attackers, have easy access. There is also usage of default SSID, which increases the risk of attack (Soni, Upadhyay, & Jain, 2017). Furthermore, passive capturing is another threat that occurs by gaining access to data that is traversing in the networks through the airwaves. By default, most WLANs send weakly encrypted and encrypted data using the WEP, which can easily be accessed, thus increasing the risk.

Best Practices for Wireless Security

In ensuring security, the user should use the most advanced encryption to enhance wireless security. Encryption is a key that keeps two signals of devices and the access points of the devices safe from attackers. Currently, the WPA2 is the best wireless security and is available on the mobile routers and the access points. WPA2 is a security protocol that utilizes all the vital security elements to help in keeping the network secure (Alghamdi, 2019). The WPA2 is the best in securing the business network as it requires the users to authenticate using their username and password. They should, therefore, be activated on the routers and the access points to prevent attacks. The usernames are hard to crack are they are unique and only known by the user.

Additionally, there is the use of the Physically Secure Access points. The wireless LAN for the business needs to be distributed in an equal way, which makes the access points inconvenient at times. Therefore, there it is vital to replace the office equipment so that every user is able to access the network. It is also essential to physically secure access points to prevent being tampered. Advanced access points help in mounting devices in a good place and locking them. The admission to the access points requires the user to use a unique password that is not accessible by other people.

The user should also select a strong password for the security networks. A strong password makes it hard for hackers to utilize brute force techniques to compromise with the network and private data. The basic guidelines for a strong password are a minimum of ten characters (Dwivedi, Vardhan, & Tripathi, 2020). Adding the capital letters and numeric is highly recommended too. Despite the password being complex, the user should choose one which they can type correctly and remember without having difficulties. The password should also remain private and not shared among people as it may pose a threat to the system, thus compromising with the network.

Moreover, it is necessary to filter the MAC addresses. The laptops and the Wi-Fi-enabled mobile devices to have a MAC address. It offers an added layer of protection by ensuring that only specific devices connect to the network. The MAC addresses are coded into the networking device so that it only allows the device into the network (Chen, Uhler, Kaplan, Mckellar & Irzak, 2019). In enabling the MAC address filtering, the user makes a list of all the hardware devices that need to be connected to the network. The devices, MAC addresses are searched then added in the router's administrative settings. The MAC address is found in the Command Prompt. The filtration helps in protecting the networks against threats.

In ensuring wireless security, one should comply with the set guidelines for keeping it safe. There are regulations like the HIPAA, PCI, and the ISO that provide standards on how to ensure security (Chen, Uhler, Kaplan, Mckellar & Irzak, 2019). They offer reliable security practices that are based on policies and procedures that keep businesses and the company's networks safe from attack. The federal government also has rules to help in ensuring data security, which the organizations are supposed to ensure compliance.

Furthermore, the use of detectors for rogue access points helps in ensuring security for wireless networks. The points interrupt the operations of the wireless network, thus causing damages that allow the hacker to initiate an attack on the network. It also enables them to send false SSIDs advertising features and stealing data from the company network. Therefore, it is vital to have the right systems in place to help in protecting the WLAN against the threats. The rogue classification rules should also be changed, and the benign access points eliminated from the rogue to ensure that the only the actual rogues that stand out.

In addition, the user should limit the strength of the wireless signal. In the case the wireless router has a high signal, one can consider reducing the range by altering the mode of the router. The router may also be placed in a position that restricts the direction of the antennas. The routers' antennae may also be wrapped with a foil. There has been a development of a Wi-Fi blocking paint that restricts other people from accessing the home network without having to use the encryption. The wrap is made up of chemicals that absorb the radio signals to reduce their strength.

There is mobile device management, which allows the user to quarantine the devices that do not meet the security standards. It helps in protecting the business network and has the ability to track regulatory compliance initiatives (Atapattu, Ross, Jing, He, & Evans, 2019). It also helps in managing the users the devices by restricting unauthorized user control updates. They also provide the security protocols of the organization to help in protecting the mobile devices on wireless networks. It removes the doubt that the business' data will be compromised; thus, it is a good practice in ensuring the security of the wireless networks.

There should be network segregation to reduce the rate of leaking sensitive data and the unauthorized access of the network. The practice also reduces the possibility of the failure of the network in case the network is attacked. Adding more layers to the network makes it hard for the attackers to access the network (Atapattu, Ross, Jing, He, & Evans, 2019). The infrastructure should, however, be refurbished to enable the effectiveness of the network. There should also be a regular audit and review of the listings of the devices accessing the network. For the privileged access control, the mandatory access control should be considered, and the access log well configured. It should also be well secured then reviewed to allow security incident analysis. The security control practice helps in blocking all the attacks on the network.

Besides, for Wi-Fi, the private network should be separated from the guest network. The guests should not be permitted into the private corporate network as it is easy to create a guest network in the wireless access points (Atapattu, Ross, Jing, He, & Evans, 2019). They should be provided with a paraphrase when they visit the business to generate special access to the network. The guests should only be given access to the guest network as it is difficult to determine those who are hunting for the network. It will protect the business' data from being traversed by the attackers and also the information sent on the networks. It would be hard for the attackers to access the network, which will enhance wireless security.

The network administrator should also authenticate the users to the network. The process should be unique for the network to prevent attackers and unauthorized individuals from accessing the network. However, offering authenticated access to the wireless network requires the organization to implement the Radius Servers while connecting them to the central service (Sari, Supiyandi, Siahaan, & Ginting, 2017). It ensures that only the right people access the network as it limits the area in which the network can be accessed. Beyond the stipulated point, the network is dysfunctional; thus, no one can gain access to it. It helps in restricting access by unauthorized individuals, thus improving network security.

The traffic over the WLAN should also be encrypted through a variety of methods using encryption applications such as the Secure Shell is effective in protecting the network. There should also be the utilization of the Virtual Private Network (VPN) to ensure triple data encryption. The wireless network traffic should be divided behind the firewall and configure every user on the network with a VPN client to drive the data to a VPN concentrator on the network (Sari, Supiyandi, Siahaan, & Ginting, 2017). After the configuration, the users only access the network with the VPN concentration point. When purchasing the VPN technologies, there should be support for the wireless network and the inspection of the firewall to ensure security. There should also be automatic updates on the security of the network to ensure it is secured.

Network users should be educated and trained in network security. Most times, users are the weakest link in ensuring the safety of the network. Therefore educating them on cybersecurity best practices helps in limiting the risks. The training should include the recognition of fishy emails, creating and maintaining strong passwords for the networks, and ensuring that vital information is not given out to the outsiders (Sari, Supiyandi, Siahaan, & Ginting, 2017). Creative techniques to carry out the training should be adopted to ensure that the employees and users understand the importance of keeping the network safe and the steps to go about it.

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