Developing a Systematic Process for Mobile Surveying and Analysis of WLAN security

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), familiarly known as Wi-Fi, is one of the most used wireless networking technologies. WLANs have rapidly grown in popularity since the release of the original IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard in 1997. We are using our beloved wireless internet connection for everything and are connecting more and more devices into our wireless networks in every form imaginable. As the number of wireless network devices keeps increasing, so does the importance of wireless network security. During its now over twenty-year life cycle, a multitude of various security measures and protocols have been introduced into WLAN connections to keep our wireless communication secure. The most notable security measures presented in the 802.11 standard have been the encryption protocols Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). Both encryption protocols have had their share of flaws and vulnerabilities, some of them so severe that the use of WEP and the first generation of the WPA protocol have been deemed irredeemably broken and unfit to be used for WLAN encryption. Even though the aforementioned encryption protocols have been long since deemed fatally broken and insecure, research shows that both can still be found in use today. The purpose of this Master’s Thesis is to develop a process for surveying wireless local area networks and to survey the current state of WLAN security in Finland. The goal has been to develop a WLAN surveying process that would at the same time be efficient, scalable, and easily replicable. The purpose of the survey is to determine to what extent are the deprecated encryption protocols used in Finland. Furthermore, we want to find out in what state is WLAN security currently in Finland by observing the use of other WLAN security practices. The survey process presented in this work is based on a WLAN scanning method called Wardriving. Despite its intimidating name, wardriving is simply a form of passive wireless network scanning. Passive wireless network scanning is used for collecting information about the surrounding wireless networks by listening to the messages broadcasted by wireless network devices. To collect our research data, we conducted wardriving surveys on three separate occasions between the spring of 2019 and early spring of 2020, in a typical medium-sized Finnish city. Our survey results show that 2.2% out of the located networks used insecure encryption protocols and 9.2% of the located networks did not use any encryption protocol. While the percentage of insecure networks is moderately low, we observed during our study that private consumers are reluctant to change the factory-set default settings of their wireless network devices, possibly exposing them to other security threats

A systematic methodology for continuous WLAN abundance and security analysis

In this paper, we present a systematic methodology for continuous surveying and analysis of 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) abundance and security, based on the passive wireless network scanning technique called wardriving. The objective is to provide an efficient, scalable, and easily accessible methodology for collecting, analysing and storing WLAN survey data. To adhere to these set requirements, the presented survey and analysis processes can be carried out with freely available open-source software and common off-the-shelf hardware. While extensive literature has been produced on wardriving and numerous WLAN survey studies have been documented in previous works, to our knowledge, no similar comprehensive methodology for systematic WLAN surveying and analysis has been previously presented. To further rationalise the need for surveying and analysing WLAN networks, an investigation on the related literature and the current state of the WLAN networking landscape has been conducted. Furthermore, as surveying WLAN networks via the wardriving technique undoubtedly raises legal and moral concerns, the legitimacy and ethics of wardriving have been examined. To test the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, a primary test and calibration WLAN survey was conducted in three separate locations within a middle-sized city located in Southwest Finland. Based on the survey results, WLAN security in Finland is in a relatively good state. During the test survey, we successfully collected and analysed data from 720 WLAN networks, proving the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. From the 720 detected WLAN networks, 6% used insecure encryption protocols, 12.8% were unencrypted and a clear majority of 81.3% used the WPA2 encryption protocol. Results also show that wireless network device owners in the surveyed areas are not inclined to alter the factory-set default settings of their wireless networks. It was noted that roughly 40% of the surveyed networks used easily identifiable factory-set SSIDs and only 5.4% of the networks had a cloaked SSID. Furthermore, the survey data shows that WLAN devices from 38 different manufacturers were detected. Three of the most popular manufacturers in the surveyed area were Cisco with 28.3%, Huawei with 15.7% and Ruckus Networks with 9.7%.</p

Battle of the bands: a long-term analysis of frequency band and channel distribution development in WLANs

In this article, we present the results of a long-term analysis ofWireless Local Area Network (WLAN) frequency band and channel distribution development. To the best of our knowledge, no similar research has been published in recent academic publications. Overcrowding of the limited frequency space on the 2.4 GHz band has become a significant issue in WLAN networking. Due to the overabundance of devices operating at 2.4 GHz, avoiding network performance degrading interference has become impossible in densely populated environments. Although the latest 802.11 WLAN standard amendments have shifted their emphasis toward the wider and less congested 5 GHz band, the 2.4 GHz band has stayed as the dominant frequency band. To observe the evolvement of WLAN frequency band and channel utilisation, data collected on nine WLAN surveys conducted between May 2019 and January 2022 was analysed. Furthermore, a simple linear regression model was produced to forecast the future development of WLAN frequency band utilisation. It was hypothesised that there would be an increase in 5 GHz frequency band utilisation as devices compliant with the latest 802.11 standard amendments become widely adopted. The survey results show a significant increase in 5 GHz frequency band utilisation. While the number of networks operating at 2.4 GHz saw a modest 42% increase, the number of networks operating at 5 GHz over doubled during the survey period. At the end of the study, 35% of all detected networks operated at 5 GHz, compared to 25% at the beginning of the study. Based on the produced linear regression model, the portion of 5 GHz networks in the survey area is expected to reach the level of 2.4 GHz networks by the autumn of 2025.</p

Murtautumistestausympäristön rakentaminen opetuskäyttöön

Tämän opinnäytetyön tavoitteena on murtautumistestausympäristön rakentaminen opetuskäyttöön Turun ammattikorkeakoulun Lemminkäisenkadun toimipisteelle. Ympäristö on tarkoitettu toimipisteen tietoturvaopintojakson laboratorio-osuutta varten. Työssä käsitellään myös murtautumistestaukseen liittyvää teoriaa sekä eettisyyttä. Ympäristö on toteutettu käyttäen VMwaren virtualisointiohjelmistoja. Työn teoriaosuus käsittelee itse murtautumistestausta ja sen eettisyyttä. Kappaleissa käsitellään muun muassa hakkeroinnin ja murtautumistestauksen eroja, testauksen eri tyyppejä sekä Penetration testing execution -standardin määrittelemiä vaiheita. Käytännön osuudessa käsitellään opetusympäristön luomisessa käytettyjä ohjelmistoja, ympäristön toteutuksen aikana syntyneitä ongelmia, ympäristön virtuaalikoneita sekä niiden välistä verkkoa. Lopussa annetaan myös esimerkki ympäristön käytöstä suorittamalla yksi opintojaksolla tehdyistä laboratoriotehtävistä. Lopputuloksena työssä on ympäristö, johon voitiin ottaa etäyhteys ja tehdä erilaisia murtautumistestaukseen liittyviä laboratoriotehtäviä siten, että ympäristöstä ei pääse haitallista liikennettä toimipisteen laboratorioverkkoon. Työn liitteinä ovat muun muassa opintojaksolle tehdyt laboratoriotehtävät.The objective of the present bachelor’s thesis is to create a penetration testing learning environment for Turku University of Applied Sciences. The thesis also discusses the basics and ethics of penetration testing. The environment, which is implemented by using VMware virtualization software, can be used to teach the basics of penetration testing safely. The theoretical part of the thesis discusses the differences between hacking and penetration testing, the ethics and the different styles of penetration testing as well as and about the standards of penetration testing. The empirical part of the thesis discusses information about the virtualization software solutions used in implementing the environment, the problems that occurred during the process, the virtual machines in the environment and the network between them. At the end of the thesis, an example of the usage of the environment is introduced. The result of the thesis is a working environment for teaching the basics of penetration testing safely. The environment was used successfully in the laboratory part of the information security course at Turku University of Applied Sciences in the autumn of 2013

Biofore-konseptiauton selektiivisen pelkistyskatalysaattorijärjestelmän suunnittelu, toteutus ja säätö

Työn tavoitteena oli suunnitella ja toteuttaa Biofore-konseptiautoon selektiivinen pelkistys-katalysaattorijärjestelmä sekä vähentää ajoneuvon ajovastuksia niin, että tehtyjen muutos-töiden avulla ajoneuvo saadaan alittamaan EU-tyyppihyväksyntämenetelmän mukaisesti sen rekisteröintiin vaadittavat säänneltyjen päästöjen raja-arvot. Työssä tutustaan yleisesti dieselmoottorin pakokaasupäästöjen muodostumiseen sekä hal-lintaan, mutta erityisesti keskitytään typenoksidipäästöihin ja niiden selektiiviseen katalyytti-seen pelkistämiseen. Lisäksi työssä kerrotaan selektiivisen pelkistyskatalysaattori- eli SCR-järjestelmän ja sen komponenttien toiminnasta autokäytössä. Tavoitteisiin päästiin kun ajoneuvo alitti Euro 5b -päästöraja-arvot säädösten mukaisessa päästömittauksessa. Työn tuloksena syntyi täysin säädettävissä oleva nykyaikainen diesel-auton päästöjenhallintajärjestelmä, jota voidaan käyttää Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulun opetuskäytössä. Lisäksi Biofore on nyt mahdollista rekisteröidä tieliikenteeseen. Kun tuoretta päästömittaustulosta verrataan ennen SCR-järjestelmän lisäystä tehtyyn mit-taukseen, voidaan järjestelmän todeta olevan hyvin tehokas keino vähentää dieselauton typenoksidipäästöjä. Edelliseen mittaukseen nähden auton muutostöillä saavutettiin noin 81 % pienemmät typenoksidipäästöt.The objective of this Bachelor’s thesis was to reduce nitrogen oxides (NOX) emissions of the Biofore Concept Car to a level that the car could be registered as a road legal vehicle in Europe. The means to achieve the objective were to design and engineer a selective cata-lytic reduction system in addition to optimize the vehicle dynamics to reduce the road load. The thesis discusses the regulated exhaust emissions of a diesel-powered car. The focus is on the NOX emissions and their selective catalytic reduction. The thesis describes how a selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system functions and how it can be implemented on a passenger car. The objective was reached as the car successfully passed an official emissions test with Euro 5b emission standard limits. The SCR system worked as expected and provided a decrease of approximately 81 % in the car’s NOX emissions compared to a similar test car-ried out before the modifications. The system is fully adjustable and can be used as educational equipment in Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences. Also, the car is now road legal in regard to its exhaust emissions. In conclusion, the SCR system can be found as a very effective way to reduce the NOX emissions of a diesel-powered car

LASERKEILAUS LIPERIN MEIJERIRAKENNUKSEN 3D-MALLINNUKSESSA JA LASERKEILAUKSEN MITTATARKKUUS

Opinnäytetyön tavoitteena oli selvittää, miten laserkeilauksella tuotettu pistepilvi saadaan tuotua AutoDesk Revit-ohjelmaan ja tutkia Liperin meijerirakennuksen laserkeilauksen mittatarkkuutta pistepilvimallista ja paikan päällä tehtyjen mittausten avulla. Lisäksi tutkittiin pistepilven hyödyntämismahdollisuuksia Autodesk Revit-ohjelmistolla tietomallintamisen kannalta, sekä tietomallin muita tieto- ja rakennusteknisiä käyttömahdollisuuksia. Opinnäytetyö tehtiin Aavakax Oy:n toimeksiannosta ja laserkeilaus toteutettiin Riveria Ammattioppilaitoksen maanmittausalan kanssa yhteistyössä syksyllä 2020. Opinnäytetyössä havaitsimme, että tällä menetelmällä saadaan tuotettua visuaalisesti tarkka malli, jonka mittatarkkuus on suhteellisen luotettava. Mittatarkkuudessa päästiin helposti alle menetelmä yleisenä käytetyn mittatarkkuuden <20mm. Lisäksi pohdimme millä toimenpiteillä mallin mittatarkkuutta voisi parantaa ja mitä käyttötarkoituksia mallilla voisi jatkossa olla. Tällaisia toimenpiteitä ovat esimerkiksi kohteen parempi siivous ja irtonaisten pintamateriaalien poistamisella

The 13th International Conference on Ambient Systems, Networks and Technologies (ANT) / The 5th International Conference on Emerging Data and Industry 4.0 (EDI40)

In this article, we present an analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) security and abundance in Southwest Finland. We hypothesised that the drastic increase in telecommuting caused by the pandemic would encourage many to update obsolete WLAN devices, improving the state of WLAN security and increasing WLAN deployment in the survey region. To test our hypotheses, data from seven WLAN surveys carried out between February 2020 and October 2021 was analysed. Surprisingly, although the results show a 50.2% increase in WLAN deployment during the second and fourth waves of the pandemic, this had no significant effect on WLAN security in the survey region. The survey data shows little change in the number of unencrypted networks and networks configured with vulnerable encryption protocols. While most of the located networks were encrypted with the secure WPA2 protocol, the number of networks configured with the newest WPA3 has not notably increased. </p