Assume you are assigned to deploy a wireless access point (WAP) or device at your place of
employment.
In a building, an access point is a device that generates a wireless local area network, or WLAN. An
access point uses an Ethernet cable to link to a wired router, switch, or hub and broadcasts a wireless
signal such as Wi-Fi signal to a specific location.
The first thing to change is the default router’s administrator password and disable remote
administration to avoid just anyone from having access to the wireless network such as Wi-Fi. Changing
passwords would prevent attackers from getting in the network to cause malicious activities, thereby
reducing cyber security risk (“Umass Lowell", n.d.). Router’s administrative password is not the same as
the wireless network’s password such as wifie because the wireless network’s password allows the user
to connect to the network while the router’s password allows the administrator to configure the settings
on the wireless network such as Wi-Fi(“Umass Lowell", n.d.). The next step is to disable remote
administration because it is possible to connect to your router from outside your home if remote
administration is enabled; leaving it on when it's not needed makes your network vulnerable to attack.
It is also very important to upgrade router’s firmware in the administrative area. There
are often bugs that are in routers and other security issues that needs to be addressed like in other
hard and software devices when they are shipped and installed prior to usage(“Umass Lowell",
n.d.). To upgrade router’s firmware is synonymous to updating an operating system in a PC or
mobile telephone and by so doing, the existing vulnerabilities can be eliminated to improve
performance of the device.it would even be a good idea to turn on automatic update for further
and automatic update. More recommendation is Configuring WIFI’s security setting; here, there are
three key areas to touch if necessary, including Service Set Identifier (SSID), using a strong Encryption
method and talso using a strong wifi’s password(“Umass Lowell", n.d.). WiFi network name will not be
accessible to devices as they search for available wireless networks in your area if SSID broadcasting is
disabled. Disabling broadcasting has the advantage of making it much more difficult for outsiders to link
to your network because they'll have to guess both your SSID and password to get in.
Discuss and review what security options should be changed immediately. Discuss at least one
vulnerable wireless protocol.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
WPA was used as a temporary security enhancement for WEP while the 802.11i wireless security
protocol was being created. WPA was formally adopted one year before WEP was officially abandoned.
Most modern WPA applications encrypt data with a pre-shared key (PSK), also known as WPA Personal,
and the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol or TKIP. For the generation of keys and certificates, WPA
Enterprise uses an authentication server.
WPA was a major improvement over WEP, but it still relied on abused elements since the core
components were designed to be rolled out through firmware updates on WEP-enabled devices.
WPA, like WEP, was found to be fairly vulnerable to interference after being put through proof-of-
concept and applied public demonstrations.
The attacks that posed the greatest threat to the protocol, however, were those that targeted Wi-Fi
Protected Setup (WPS), an auxiliary system designed to make connecting devices to modern access
points easier.
References
netspot". (2019, October 3). NetSpot Mac. NetSpot. https://www.netspotapp.com/wifi-encryption-and-
security.html
umass Lowell". (n.d.). Updating WiFi Security Settings for Home WiFi Networks | Information
Technology | UMass Lowell. Www.uml.edu. Retrieved March 31, 2021, from
https://www.uml.edu/it/information-security/updating-wifi-security-settings.aspx
