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Wireless pen test: what is it?

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Wireless networks are convenient but can be insecure due to the open availability of the signal. A wireless penetration test can determine where a network is weak by emulating different types of attacks. Tests include denial of service attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, security leaks, and address spoofing. Rogue access points can also be detected. Professional network security companies offer testing, but many tools are available in an open source format.

The wireless network makes communicating and connecting to the Internet convenient and easy, but it can be a problem to keep it secure due to the open availability of the signal. The way to test that security is a wireless penetration test. By running a spectrum of tests that emulate different types of possible attacks, a wireless penetration test, often called a pen test, can determine where a wireless network is weak.

By sending a signal through the atmosphere similar to a radio signal, it is difficult to limit the distance of a wireless signal. This is the main problem when it comes to wireless security, as virtually anyone within a certain range of the signal can access it, including unauthorized users, unless certain measures are taken. That’s why wireless penetration tests were born, although in many cases the tests were created by unauthorized users, called hackers, for the purpose of infiltrating a network.

Wireless penetration tests vary in both the type of tools used and the tests performed, but several basic tests are usually included. The most common types of tests performed in a wireless penetration test include denial of service attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, security leaks, and address spoofing. Denial of service attacks are done to emulate a hacker who would flood the network with traffic to effectively shut it down, while man-in-the-middle attacks are essentially ways to eavesdrop on the network and monitor information. Security leaks test ways a hacker could get it by stealing authentication keys, and address spoofing tests wireless networks to see if it’s easy for someone to actually pretend to be on the network in a legitimate way.

In addition to tests that look for security loopholes, a wireless penetration test can look for rogue access points. These are physical connections to a network that someone, usually a hacker, has set up without the knowledge of the person managing the network, allowing unrestricted access to an otherwise secure network. Large companies are especially prone to rogue access points.

Professional network security companies do wireless penetration testing for their customers, but independent users, usually hackers, create many of the tools available in an open source format, which means anyone can use or modify them. While it requires some knowledge of computer networking to perform a wireless penetration test, many of the tools used to perform the tests are simple and small, meaning they can fit into a small portable unit, making them affordable for smaller, larger businesses. to user homes.

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