ARLINGTON, Va.--Simply booting up a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop can tell people sniffing wireless network traffic a lot about your computer--and about you.
Soon after a computer powers up, it starts looking for wireless networks and network services. Even if the wireless hardware is then shut-off, a snoop may already have caught interesting data. Much more information can be plucked out of the air if the computer is connected to an access point, in particular an access point without security.
You're at a conference outside the office when your smart phone receives a sensitive e-mail projecting your company's fiscal health for the next six months, with details of a top-secret project that will rock Wall Street. You know enough to not read the message, so you save it. But later, back at the office, your boss is outraged; a competitor has just announced the very same project and is now reaping the stock price rewards that come with being the first to announce it. You remember that a representative of this competitor was seated just across the conference table from you. No one in the room had a laptop, only their smart phones.
Wireless devices that can send and receive e-mail — BlackBerries, Windows Mobile-based phones or other smart phones — are emerging as serious corporate threats because they have become so advanced and widely used, yet are so thinly secured, that cybercriminals are targeting them as a path to corporate data, say security experts and vendors
Wireless devices that can send and receive e-mail — BlackBerries, Windows Mobile-based phones or other smart phones — are emerging as serious corporate threats because they have become so advanced and widely used, yet are so thinly secured, that cybercriminals are targeting them as a path to corporate data, say security experts and vendors
AirDefense, the innovator and market leader in anywhere, anytime wireless security, today reaffirmed it leadership position in the wireless LAN (WLAN) prevention industry with the launch of AirDefense Enterprise 7.2. AirDefense Enterprise 7.2 is the most comprehensive WLAN protection product suite featuring a robust new reporting engine, a sophisticated wireless troubleshooting module, intelligent event management with new correlation algorithms and new system administration features allowing the effortless protection of hundreds of wireless sites.
The number of reported security incidents on mobile devices in 2006 was more than five times as high as in 2005, according to a report from a security vendor.
A study commissioned by McAfee found that 83 per cent of mobile operators have been hit by mobile device infections.
Researchers at McAfee said malware is hitting mobile device users around the world at increasing rates. The study, which was performed by Informa Telecoms and Media and sponsored by McAfee, found 83 percent of mobile operators surveyed have been hit by mobile device infections, and that nearly half of the operators that have experienced mobile malware outbreaks have had one within the last three months.
The palm-sized PDA tucked away in Justine Aitel's pocketbook just might be the most scary device on display at this year's RSA security conference.
Aitel is roaming the hallways here with Silica, a portable hacking device that can search for and join 802.11 (Wi-Fi) access points, scan other connections for open ports, and automatically launch code execution exploits from a built-in exploit platform.
Source: Coinoperated - Posted by Benjamin D. Thomas
Wifi Liberator is an open-source toolkit for a laptop computer that enables its user to "liberate" pay-per-use wireless networks and create a free, open node that anyone can connect to for Internet access. The project is presented as a challenge to existing corporate or "locked" private wireless nodes to encourage the proliferation of free networks and connectivity across the planet. The project was inspired by the ongoing "battle" between providers broadcasting wireless signals in public spaces, in particular: corporate entities, wireless community groups, individual users, and proponents of open networks.
Maybe I’m a little old for it, but I do enjoy the change of pace a big wireless security penetration project provides. Once or twice a year, I get to put down my thrill-a-minute governance frameworks, quit rockin’ out policy advice, and make like the black hats for a week or two. There area few differences between this sort of project and the usual network security assessment. It also prompts a lot of questions from clients, peers and curious IT staff, most likely because it looks like a lot of fun. For the most part, it is.
