WEP is an outdated security standard vulnerable to statistical attacks due to IV collisions. If you insist on using an open access point, consider using ' HTTPS Everywhere' while browsing. Access the control panel of the wireless router and configure it to use a complex WPA2 key (explained later in this paper). While it is highly unlikely today that a banking website would lack an HTTPS link, this is meant to demonstrate the dangers of using unencrypted Wi-Fi along with unencrypted protocols such as HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.ĭefense: Never leave the access point 'open' or unsecured. In this case, we captured the traffic pertaining to an open Wi-Fi on channel 1 using 'Airodump-ng', and analyzed the captured file in Wireshark, which revealed that a user on the network was logging into his (demo) bank account. This means that anyone with a packet capture utility can read unencrypted HTTP, email, and FTP traffic. It is observed that home users with unlimited bandwidth and data are more likely to leave their access point unsecured, unaware of the security implications.Īttack: Open Wi-Fi networks do not encrypt data packets over wireless channels.

When open access points are deployed in homes, it could be out of 'generosity' towards neighbors or sheer insouciance towards security, or both. Specific Wi-Fi security standards are associated with particular security weaknesses that the attacker would target.Īlthough rare, open Wi-Fi access points are still extant in certain homes. The choices of attack for a neighboring Wi-Fi hacker vary with different configurations of Wi-Fi access points.

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