61 research outputs found
Exposing Vulnerabilities in Mobile Networks: A Mobile Data Consumption Attack
Smartphone carrier companies rely on mobile networks for keeping an accurate
record of customer data usage for billing purposes. In this paper, we present a
vulnerability that allows an attacker to force the victim's smartphone to
consume data through the cellular network by starting the data download on the
victim's cell phone without the victim's knowledge. The attack is based on
switching the victim's smartphones from the Wi-Fi network to the cellular
network while downloading a large data file. This attack has been implemented
in real-life scenarios where the test's outcomes demonstrate that the attack is
feasible and that mobile networks do not record customer data usage accurately.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, presented on IEEE MASS 201
Masquerading Techniques in IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Networks
The airborne nature of wireless transmission offers a potential target for attackers to compromise IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). In this dissertation, we explore the current WLAN security threats and their corresponding defense solutions. In our study, we divide WLAN vulnerabilities into two aspects, client, and administrator. The client-side vulnerability investigation is based on examining the Evil Twin Attack (ETA) while our administrator side research targets Wi-Fi Protected Access II (WPA2). Three novel techniques have been presented to detect ETA. The detection methods are based on (1) creating a secure connection to a remote server to detect the change of gateway\u27s public IP address by switching from one Access Point (AP) to another. (2) Monitoring multiple Wi-Fi channels in a random order looking for specific data packets sent by the remote server. (3) Merging the previous solutions into one universal ETA detection method using Virtual Wireless Clients (VWCs). On the other hand, we present a new vulnerability that allows an attacker to force the victim\u27s smartphone to consume data through the cellular network by starting the data download on the victim\u27s cell phone without the victim\u27s permission. A new scheme has been developed to speed up the active dictionary attack intensity on WPA2 based on two novel ideas. First, the scheme connects multiple VWCs to the AP at the same time-each VWC has its own spoofed MAC address. Second, each of the VWCs could try many passphrases using single wireless session. Furthermore, we present a new technique to avoid bandwidth limitation imposed by Wi-Fi hotspots. The proposed method creates multiple VWCs to access the WLAN. The combination of the individual bandwidth of each VWC results in an increase of the total bandwidth gained by the attacker. All proposal techniques have been implemented and evaluated in real-life scenarios
An IEEE 802.11 MAC Layer Covert Channel Based On Supported Rates
Wireless Local Area Networks present several vulnerabilities that are exploited, and as a result, numerous attacks have been developed and used against them. Although countermeasures to detect and eliminate such threats have been created throughout the years, few methods exist to prevent the attacks. IEEE 802.11 covert channels could be considered a candidate to prevent Wi-Fi attacks since they allow secret communication between the client station and the access point without establishing an association. They can be implemented in frames that attackers do not target. This paper presents a new covert channel that prevents Wi-Fi attacks. We also describe metrics, and discuss the performance results of the proposed solution. We show that the new protocol is able to achieve high efficiency of operation
Wireless Handheld Solution for the Gaming Industry
of the essential elements of success in the gaming industry is the requirement of providing exceptional customer service. Technology plays a significant role in bringing state of the art solutions that enhance the overall customer experience. Currently a guest must go through multiple steps and a variety of departments to simply resolve issues with their player accounts (loyalty programs), update customer profiles, book hotel and restaurant reservations, sign up for promotions, etc. In order to effectively take care of these customers in both a timely and efficient manner, a wireless handheld device is needed that employees can carry with them to resolve and address these concerns. This project is aimed at identifying the proper wireless infrastructure for the gaming environment and also the wireless handheld device, such as an Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC) to effectively and efficiently take care of customers
Security technologies for wireless access to local area networks
In today’s world, computers and networks are connected to all life aspects and professions.
The amount of information, personal and organizational, spread over the network
is increasing exponentially. Simultaneously, malicious attacks are being developed at the
same speed, which makes having a secure network system a crucial factor on every level
and in any organization. Achieving a high protection level has been the goal of many
organizations, such as the Wi-Fi Alliance
R , and many standards and protocols have been
developed over time.
This work addresses the historical development of WLAN security technologies, starting
from the oldest standard, WEP, and reaching the newly released standard WPA3, passing
through the several versions in between,WPA, WPS, WPA2, and EAP. Along with WPA3,
this work addresses two newer certificates, Enhanced OpenTM and Easy ConnectTM. Furthermore,
a comparative analysis of the previous standards is also presented, detailing
their security mechanisms, flaws, attacks, and the measures they have adopted to prevent
these attacks. Focusing on the new released WPA3, this work presents a deep study
on both WPA3 and EAP-pwd. The development of WPA3 had the objective of providing
strong protection, even if the network’s password is considered weak. However, this
objective was not fully accomplished and some recent research work discovered design
flaws in this new standard.
Along with the above studies, this master thesis’ work builds also a network for penetration
testing using a set of new devices that support the new standard. A group of possible
attacks onWi-Fi latest security standards was implemented on the network, testing the response
against each of them, discussing the reason behind the success or the failure of the
attack, and providing a set of countermeasures applicable against these attacks. Obtained results show that WPA3 has overcome many of WPA2’s issues, however, it is still unable to overcome some major Wi-Fi vulnerabilities.No mundo de hoje, os computadores e as redes estão conectados praticamente a todos
os aspectos da nossa vida pessoal e profissional. A quantidade de informações, pessoais
e organizacionais, espalhadas pela rede está a aumentar exponencialmente. Simultaneamente,
também os ataques maliciosos estão a aumentar à mesma velocidade, o que faz
com que um sistema de rede seguro seja um fator crucial a todos os níveis e em qualquer
organização. Alcançar altos níveis de proteção tem sido o objetivo de trabalho de muitas
organizações, como a Wi-Fi Alliance
R , tendo muitos standards e protocolos sido desenvolvidos
ao longo do tempo.
Este trabalho aborda o desenvolvimento histórico das tecnologias de segurança para WLANs,
começando pelo standard mais antigo, WEP, e acabando no recém-chegado WPA3, passando
pelas várias versões intermedias, WPA, WPS, WPA2 e EAP. Juntamente com o
WPA3, este trabalho aborda os dois certificados mais recentes, Enhanced OpenTM e Easy
ConnectTM. Além disso, também é apresentada uma análise comparativa dos standards
anteriores, detalhando os seus principais mecanismos de segurança, falhas, ataques a que
são susceptíveis e medidas adotadas para evitar esses ataques. Quanto ao novo WPA3
e EAP-pwd, este trabalho apresenta um estudo aprofundado sobre os seus modos "Personal"
e "Enterprise". O desenvolvimento do WPA3 teve por objetivo fornecer proteção
forte, mesmo que a password de rede seja considerada fraca. No entanto, esse objetivo
não foi totalmente alcançado e alguma investigação realizada recentemente detectou falhas
de desenho nesse novo padrão.
Juntamente com os estudo dos standards acima referidos, o trabalho realizado para esta
tese de mestrado também constrói uma rede para testes de penetração usando um conjunto
de novos dispositivos que já suportam o novo standard. São aplicados vários ataques aos
mais recentes padrões de segurança Wi-Fi, é testada a sua resposta contra cada um deles,
é discutindo o motivo que justifica o sucesso ou a falha do ataque, e são indicadas
contramedidas aplicáveis a esses ataques. Os resultados obtidos mostram que o WPA3
superou muitos dos problemas do WPA2 mas que, no entanto, ainda é incapaz de superar
algumas das vulnerabilidades presentes nas redes Wi-Fi.First, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to those who gave me the possibility
to complete my study and get my Master degree, the Aga Khan Foundation, who has
supported me financiall
Proposed Framework for Securing Mobile Banking Applications from Man in the Middle Attacks
Mobile phone banking and payments continues to not only be a popular way of transacting business but it also seems to evolve rapidly. Despite its popularity however there seem to be some very genuine concerns on the security issues revolving around it, particularly in regard to man in the middle attacks. This paper seeks to propose a secure framework for communication between a mobile device and the back end server for protecting mobile banking applications from man-in-the-middle attacks without introducing further threats to the communication channel. Keywords: Defense- in-depth, Security, man in the middle attack, secure framework, bank serve
User-side wi-fi hotspot spoofing detection on android-based devices
A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master’s in Wireless and Mobile Computing of the Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and TechnologyNetwork spoofing is becoming a common attack in wireless networks. Similarly, there is a
rapid growth of numbers in mobile devices in the working environments. The trends pose a
huge threat to users since they become the prime target of attackers. More unfortunately,
mobile devices have weak security measures due to their limited computational powers,
making them an easy target for attackers. Current approaches to detect spoofing attacks focus
on personal computers and rely on the network hosts’ capacity, leaving users with mobile
devices at risk. Furthermore, some approaches on Android-based devices demand root
privilege, which is highly discouraged. This research aims to study users' susceptibility to
network spoofing attacks and propose a detection solution in Android-based devices. The
presented approach considers the difference in security information and signal levels of an
access point to determine its legitimacy. On the other hand, it tests the legitimacy of the captive
portal with fake login credentials since, usually, fake captive portals do not authenticate users.
The detection approaches are presented in three networks: (a) open networks, (b) closed
networks and (c) networks with captive portals. As a departure from existing works, this
solution does not require root access for detection, and it is developed for portability and better
performance. Experimental results show that this approach can detect fake access points with
an accuracy of 98% and 99% at an average of 24.64 and 7.78 milliseconds in open and closed
networks, respectively. On the other hand, it can detect the existence of a fake captive portal at
an accuracy of 88%. Despite achieving this performance, the presented detection approach does
not cover APs that do not mimic legitimate APs. As an improvement, future work may focus
on pcap files which is rich of information to be used in detection
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