WiFi networks are a necessity in today’s interwebbed world; they provide the luxury of the internet from the ease and comfort of our homes, at work, and in public places. However, this luxury, made easy by WiFi, could be threatened with vicious security issues. WiFi hacks have increasingly posed a problem for our privacy and sensitive information. This paper discusses various WiFi hacks and practical preventive measures for network security.
Table of Contents:
What Are WiFi Hacks?
WiFi hacks entail unauthorized access or manipulation of wireless networks by malicious actors. The attacks are based on the vulnerability of WiFi protocols, router configuration, or user behaviour that leads to gaining network access, intercepting data, or disrupting the service. It is very important to understand these threats in order to implement a better security mechanism.
10 Different Types of WiFi Hacks
Password Cracking
One of the more common hacks for WiFi is password cracking. Attackers normally use different methods to guess or break the WiFi password. Common methods include:
- Brute-force attacks: the process of trying all possible combinations of the password.
- Dictionary attacks: the use of word and phrase lists.
- Rainbow table attack: using computer-processed precomputed hash tables to retrieve plain text from a given encrypted password for a given plaintext password, usually in the formation of a pair.
But here are some ways to avoid password cracking: using strong and distinct passwords by including a mixture of uppercase, lowercase, number, and special characters; changing your password consistently; and avoiding using easily guessable information.
Also Read : What is an ARP Spoofing Attack?
Rogue Access Point
A rogue access point is a malicious WiFi hotspot set up by hackers as a honeypot for unaware users. They often superficially seem legitimate, putting the unaware user in a position to attempt to log in and thus, without doing so knowingly, reveal personal information to the creator. Be very careful when using public WiFi networks, and always confirm the authenticity of the access point with the establishment offering it.
Man-in-the-Middle Attack
In an MITM attack, hackers intercept the communications between the two parties; this may contain eavesdropping or modifying the exchanged statistics. This can occur on an insecurely configured WiFi network wherein this attacker can borrow touchy facts, from login credentials to economic information. Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on every occasion, connecting to a public WiFi to encrypt your traffic and shield yourself from MITM assaults.
Evil Twin Attack
Like rogue access Point, evil dual assaults establish a faux WiFi network that also appears legitimate. The objective is to entice the user to hook up with the synthetic community so that the attacker can sniff packets or infect the goal with malware. Check your surroundings, and do not connect with unknown or oddly named networks.
Packet Sniffing
It is a system of shooting and studying records packets flowing over a WiFi network. There remains a danger that attackers might disguise themselves with specialised software programs to intercept unencrypted records and, subsequently, leak sensitive statistics. WPA3 or WPA2 protocols ought to be used to encrypt the WiFi network to defend against the sniffing of packets.
Wireless Jamming
The wireless jamming threat is a denial of service attack where the WiFi signals are disrupted by creating interference floods in the network, which may render the network useless to other users. Though it can hardly be completely prevented, mitigation of such kind of attack can be done using devices that allow multiple frequency bands, like 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.
MAC Spoofing
MAC spoofing enables attackers to impersonate a legitimate device by changing their MAC address to a locally authorized one. This would be in the form of circumvention of security measures using MAC address filtering. Add extra layers of security besides MAC filtering, like robust encryption and network segmentation.
Denial of Service (DoS) Attack
In essence, a DoS attack attempts to flood a network or target device with an overabundance of traffic to render it unusable by legitimate traffic. WiFi networks may include network over-saturation due to connection requests or other forms of exploiting router firmware vulnerabilities. Always ensure your router’s firmware is up to date, and consider using a firewall to help protect against DoS attacks.
For those seeking a professional route to enhance their knowledge in network security, a CISSP certification course will give such individuals much-needed expertise in protecting from a wide array of cyber attacks, including WiFi hacking.
WPS Vulnerabilities
WPS aims to make setting up things like WiFi protection on devices easier, but attackers can also exploit its known vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access. Disable WPS on the router, or make sure you are running the latest firmware that addresses known WPS vulnerabilities.
Physical Access
Physical access to a router is only taken seriously sometimes, which can result in serious security breaches. Someone with physical access to a router can always reset it to the default configuration, which could achieve a direct entry point to the network. Secure your router in a locked location and be cautious about who has physical access to your networking equipment.
Also Read : What is Password Cracking?
Signs Someone Hacked Your Router
Detecting a router hack can be challenging, but some signs may indicate unauthorized access:
- Unexplained changes to the settings on your router
- Devices you don’t know that are connected to your network
- Internet slowdowns or sometimes not being able to communicate at all
- Departing traffic or unusual data use
- Changes in the DNS settings
- Unexpected pop-ups or redirects when browsing
If you encounter any of these symptoms, the first action should be a password change for your router and an immediate security audit for your entire network.
Preventive Measures for Your Wi Fi Network Security
Besides detecting potential intruders, several preventive measures should be considered to enhance protection against unwanted invaders of your WiFi network.
- Use strong encryption—enable WPA3 or WPA2 encryption in your router.
- Change default credentials: Always change the default username and password of your router’s management panel.
- Keep firmware updated: Always update your router’s firmware whenever available.
- Enable firewall: Use the firewall available in the router or adopt a different hardware firewall.
- Disable remote management: Switch off remote access to the management panel of your router.
- Guest network: Create one for guests separately to keep them off the main network.
- Network segmentation: Segment your IoT devices separately from your main network.
- Use a VPN: Especially when using public WiFi.
- MAC address filtering: Though it doesn’t eliminate issues, it does offer another security layer.
- Monitor: Periodically check your router’s list of connected devices for any unknown entries.
Why WiFi Passwords Can Be Vulnerable
There are a couple of reasons why WiFi passwords can be vulnerable:
- Weak passwords: Short or easily guessable passwords are more prone to cracking attempts.
- Default passwords: Most users leave their router to be with the default passwords. The fact that the default passwords are publicly known doesn’t help.
- Outdated encryption: Older encryption standards, such as WEP, make passwords easier to crack.
- Social engineering: It sometimes leads to accidental password leakage to unauthorized people.
- Phishing attacks: Attackers can sometimes fake login pages or emails to get the WiFi password from users.
For stronger password protection, select complex, unique passwords, and consider using a password manager to create and store strong passwords securely.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, the threat of WiFi hack is real to our secure existence in the online world. Still, it can be much averted if adequate knowledge and necessary precautions are taken quickly. Be careful to keep your systems updated, keep your network secure, and, much more than anything, be watchful and relish the advantages of wireless connectivity without letting strangers peek in on your privacy and data.
FAQs
What can be Hacked on WiFi?
Any device connected to a WiFi network in some way or another could be hacked. This includes computers and smartphones but also smart home devices and, yes, even industrial control systems.
What are some of the WiFi attacks?
Some common attacks against WiFi networks include cracking a password, setting up rogue access points, man-in-the-middle attacks, evil twin attacks, packet sniffing, wireless jamming, MAC spoofing, and denial-of-service attacks.
What are some of the attacks on WiFi?
The main attacks carried out against WiFi networks are:
- password cracking
- Man-in-the-Middle attacks
- Evil twin attacks
- packet sniffing
- Rogue access points
- Denial of Service attacks
- MAC spoofing
- WPS exploits
What are the commonly used attacks involving free WiFi?
Hackers often use free WiFi services for a variety of widely known attacks. Among them are the following:
- Evil twin attacks: Creation by a hacker of a fake hotspot to copy a real free WiFi network
- Man-in-the-Middle attacks: Interception of data transfer over non-ciphered public channels
- Malware spreading: A hacker remotely distributes malware through hacked networks.
- Phishing attacks: Luring users into fake login pages to ‘steal’ their credentials
- Session hijacking: Actively taking over user sessions on websites or applications
How do I make my Wi-Fi Secret?
- Create an ultra-powerful and unique password.
- Activate WPA2 or WPA3 encryption.
- Hide the SSID.
- Filter MAC addresses to control the types of devices allowed.
- Keep the router firmware updated.
- Switch off features for remote management and WPS.
- Keep tabs on suspicious activity occurring on your network.