Wireless security - Essay Example

Categories of Attackers There are many types of attackers, which intend to harm the networks. Some of the most famous types of attackers include hackers, crackers, script kiddies, spies, employees, and cyber terrorists. Selected Attacker Of all these six types of attackers, the one, which I would like to break into my network, is a hacker. The reason is that hackers break into the networks to identify the security holes present in the networks. The aim of the hackers is not to commit theft, destroy, or steal any sort of private information; rather the intention is to make the network administrators improve the security of their networks.

Ciampa (2009) found that a hacker is a person who makes use of advanced programming skills and techniques to break illegally into any specific computer system in order to expose the security flaws (p. 16). Some attackers believe that the act of hacking is ethical because the aim is neither to steal information nor to create any sort of problem for the user of the computer system. If a hacker attacks my personal computer system, it will make me aware that the security features, which I have implemented for the protection of my computer, are not strong enough to combat the attacks of the hackers.

Therefore, I would like a hacker to break into my security wall to identify the security flaws in my system, which will make me improve my security by installing more trustworthy and reliable security features in order to make my computer more safe and secure than before. Categories of Wireless Security Protection There are three main categories of wireless security protection, which include access control, wired equivalent privacy, and authentication. All of these serve the purpose of protecting the networks from unauthorized outside accesses.

Of all these three types of protections, the one, which I feel more secure than the others, is access control. Smith (n.d.) states, “Access control systems are physical or electronic systems which are designed to control who has access to a network”. It is basically a process in which administrator of a network grants or denies the resources to access the network based on the authentication of the person who wants to access the network. Using access control mechanisms, we can prevent any kind of unauthorized access to our networks.

It is more secure than WEP because some software products are available which can easily crack the security protocols of WEP. Therefore, I feel that access control is the most secure security mechanism, which I would like to use. WEP is an older encryption algorithm used for the secure transfer of data over the network. It is not a current standard of authentication because it has several weaknesses, which the experts still need to overcome. WPA and WPA2 are good replacements for WEP. WPA continuously keeps on changing the key, which makes the data more secure whereas WEP generates a single key, which the network attackers can easily crack.

WPA2 makes use of AES for encryption, which is more secure than RC4 encryption used by WEP. References Ciampa, M. (2009). Security+ Guide to Network Security Fundamentals (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Smith, S. (n.d.). What are Access Control Systems?. Wisegeek.com. Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-access-control-systems.htm