issc362 discussion response 2

Need to respond to two student discussions with at least 150 words minimum for each response. Below in the bold are the questions the students are responding to.

For this week’s post please utilize the items described in the lesson/resources or research conducted on the web to ensure your post contains the following;

1. Considering that there are many security concerns surrounding wireless networks, and many tools are freely available, how does and administrator or even an individual user go about ensuring the security of their wireless network?  List a minimum of two methods/techniques, and explain the rational for your decision?

Student one:

WPA used to be the encryption method used to secure a wireless network but due to the KRACK vulnerability found it was less so. The Wifi Alliance has created the new WPA3 encryption to correct this vulnerability and that is the new standard that will need to be used if you want to correctly secure your network. Using the Access Control on the router and setting the block all new devices via their MAC address is a measure you can take to protect your network as even if they do somehow get the password to access your network they will still need the network admin to add their device to the list of approved devices allowed to connect to the network. It does take a little more effort but if you want to increase security it is a strong approach. I have been running it for a while on my home network and always forget and am reminded when guest connects, and they say it says their device if not approved to connect even after they inputted the password. I have lately stopped reading my logs though as I have noticed that chrome gives a lot of false DoS alerts as the router categorizes some errors wrong. Another method that can be used to ensure a secure network is to Hide your network name from the list of visible networks and it becomes an out of sight out of mind type scenario. Think of it as your home locking the door does not keep someone out of your home it just makes it harder for them to get in as they can break a window or kick in the door. Same with your network if you want to prevent people from accessing it keep it out of public view.  The list is long and exhaustive in ways you can secure your network. 

Salutations,

Will

Student two:

In today’s digital age, wireless networks are everywhere! Starbucks, airports, planes, subway trains, and of course in the homes. As of 2018, 89% of all homes in the United States alone with “broadband used Wi-Fi to connect to the internet” (NCTA, 2018). Furthermore, The Internet & Television Association forecasts that more than34 exabytes of data will be transmitted monthly via Wi-Fi by the year 2021. With so many households and organizations using Wi-Fi, it begs the question, of the 89%, what percentage of that are actually secured properly. Due to the vast amount of data, Wi-Fi network security is paramount in the safeguarding of such data that may include personal information or highly sensitive information.

The most basic and easy way to begin properly securing your network begins the appropriate authentication technology. In this case, it will be the most current technology known as Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 or WPA2 for short. Using this over WEP or the original WPA, ensures your network is protected from various types of attacks. With this also comes to a strong password. Often times, people choose simple, short, and easy passwords that can easily be guessed with little to know time. Having a subpar password, will hinder the effectiveness of the WPA2 authentication technology. Using special characters, letters, numbers, and none dictionary words or names can make it a tad more difficult for hacker to correctly crack you password.

One other way to better protect your Wi-Fi network can be using Media access control or MAC address filtering to limit you network to only certain devices. This is done by noting the MAC address of any and all devices you want to have network access and registering them into your access point or router. In doing so, you have a set list of devices that are the only authorized devices allowed on the network. 

Lastly, the placement of your access point or router can also help in securing your network. By placing the router in locations where the signal only reaches where you need it to reach can help your overall security. Example of this is putting your access point towards the center of your home and away from windows so as to not let the signal reach outside your home. This hinders a hacker’s ability to access your network from afar. 

NCTA. (2018, April 06). Wi-Fi: How Broadband Households Experience the Internet. Retrieved from https://www.ncta.com/whats-new/wi-fi-how-broadband…

-Heriberto