Understanding WiFi attacks is crucial to protecting your network. This article explores common attacks hackers can leverage when connected to your Wi-Fi and provides tips on how to defend yourself.
Table of Contents
How are Wi-Fi attacks performed by hackers?
It is important to know how a device connects to wifi. While connecting to the wifi the handshake files are shared by each other. It verifies the authentication and establishes a successful connection. While connecting to the wifi networks the handshake file can be captured by an attacker. The wifi authentication password is stored in that handshake file.
Before wpa2 the handshake file data were shared in plain text and it was easily readable to an attacker. After the time the handshake files data come in encrypted format and it is tougher to crack if there is a strong password.
Which wifi attacks are possible?
There are several wifi attacks after gaining access to the wifi. Normally our end motive is to gain the wifi access but the main work starts from here for hackers.
MITM (Man-In-The-Middle Attack)
Here an attacker can manipulate network traffic and intercept the traffic. Not only intercept the network traffic but also they can steal or read your data and more. Just understand that you are transparent on that network. One thing is that you will lose control of all IoT devices.
Sniffing Network Traffic
If the traffic is not encrypted, the attacker can capture sensitive data like unencrypted passwords, emails, and chat messages.
Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) Attack
The attacker can send massive amounts of traffic to the Wi-Fi network, overwhelming it and causing network outages for legitimate users.
Rogue Access Point (Evil Twin)
The attacker can create a duplicate Wi-Fi network, tricking users into connecting to it and capturing their data.
ARP Spoofing
The attacker can manipulate the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) to intercept data frames and perform a Man-in-the-Middle attack.
DNS Spoofing
The hacker can manipulate the Domain Name System (DNS) to redirect users to malicious websites.
Session Hijacking
The attacker can take over an authenticated user’s session and impersonate them on the network.
Injection Attacks (SQL, XSS, etc.)
If the attacker can intercept unencrypted traffic, they could inject malicious code or SQL queries into web applications, potentially gaining access to sensitive data or taking control of the application.
Wireless Vulnerabilities
The attacker can exploit known vulnerabilities in the Wi-Fi protocol (e.g., WEP, WPA, WPA2) or the wireless access point’s firmware to gain unauthorized access or elevate privileges.
Eavesdropping on Wireless Communication
If the attacker can physically be located near the Wi-Fi network, they could use tools like a directional antenna or a packet sniffer to eavesdrop on wireless communication.
How to secure from wifi attacks?
There are some basic points to remember to protect yourself from these wifi attacks.
Try to keep hard-to-guess passwords for your wifi and other fields also.
If there are new devices connected to your wifi they block it.
These two ways are perfect for securing your wifi or yourself.