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The Security Of Wireless Networks Essay

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Since the inception of IEEE 802.11i in 2004, users and IT administrators have been able to improve the security of their wireless networks by taking advantage of protocols like CCMP, an algorithm designed to provide both authentication and encryption. With CCMP, wireless networks can be secured with 128-bit AES encryption, provided by the Counter Mode component of CCMP. The CBC-MAC mode component provides the authentication mechanism. Although the security provided by 802.11i is a significant improvement to 802.11 networks, the security only applies to the data frames and does not provide any security over the management frames. In an 802.11 network, the data frame is what carries the protocols and data from higher layers. For example, a data frame might contain a JPEG image or JavaScript from a web page that the user is browsing. Whereas, 802.11 management frames allow the WiFi stations to establish and maintain communications. For example, the management frames might carry configuration information about the type of wireless device that’s in use on the network, as well as its configurations. Since management frames are unencrypted and can reveal critical pieces of information to a hacker, such as details about the types of wireless devices on the network as well as its configurations, it’s important to be aware of the different types of wireless attacks that a hacker can carry out against your wireless network. Although it is not heavily used in North American

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