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Black Hat Briefings Mandy Andress

July 12, 2001 ArcSec Technologies


ï ses
ï Benefits
ï Standards
ï Functionality
ï Security Issues
ï Solutions and Implementations


ï ey drivers are mobility and accessibility

ï Easily change work locations in the office
ï Internet access at airports, cafes, conferences,
etc.
! 

ï Increased productivity
± Improved collaboration
± No need to reconnect to the network
± Ability to work in more areas
ï Reduced costs
± No need to wire hard-to-reach areas
 


ï IEEE 802.11
ï IEEE 802.11b
ï IEEE 802.11a
ï IEEE 802.11e
ï HiperLAN/2
ï Interoperability
Ñ


ï ÿublished in June 1997

ï 2.4GHz operating frequency
ï 1 to 2 Mbps throughput
ï Can choose between frequency hopping or
direct sequence spread modulation
Ñ


ï ÿublished in late 1999 as supplement to

802.11
ï Still operates in 2.4GHz band
ï Data rates can be as high as 11 Mbps
ï Only direct sequence modulation is specified
ï Most widely deployed today
Ñ


ï Also published in late 1999 as a supplement to 802.11

ï Operates in 5GHz band (less RF interference than
2.4GHz range)
ï sers Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
(OFDM)
ï Supports data rates up to 54 Mbps
ï Currently no products available, expected in fourth
quarter
Ñ


ï Currently under development

ï Working to improve security issues
ï Extensions to MAC layer, longer keys, and key
management systems
ï Adds 128-bit AES encryption
j 


ï Development led by the European

Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI)
ï Operates in the 5 GHz range, uses OFDM
technology, and support data rates over
50Mbps like 802.11a
½

  

ï 802.11a and 802.11b work on different

frequencies, so little chance for interoperability
ï Can coexist in one network
ï HiperLAN/2 is not interoperable with 802.11a
or 802.11b
¦
  

ï Basic Configuration
ï WLAN Communication
ï WLAN ÿacket Structure
!
 
 
Ñ

 

ï CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple

Access/Collision Avoidance) instead of
Collision Detection
ï WLAN adapter cannot send and receive traffic
at the same time on the same channel
ï Hidden Node ÿroblem
ï Four-Way Handshake
j 

¦
| j

a
 

Î ½

Application
ÿresentation

Session
Transport

Network
Data Link 802.11 MAC header
802.11b
ÿhysical 802.11 ÿLCÿ header
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 ½  

ï Sniffing and War Driving

ï Rogue Networks
ï ÿolicy Management
ï MAC Address
ï SSID
ï WEÿ
|

 

ï Default installation allow any wireless NIC to

access the network
ï Drive around (or walk) and gain access to
wireless networks
ï ÿrovides direct access behind the firewall
ï Heard reports of an 8 mile range using a 24dB
gain parabolic dish antenna.
£


ï Network users often set up rogue wireless

LANs to simplify their lives
ï Rarely implement security measures
ï Network is vulnerable to War Driving and
sniffing and you may not even know it



ï Access is binary
ï Full network access or no network access
ï Need means of identifying and enforcing
access policies



ï Can control access by allowing only defined

MAC addresses to connect to the network
ï This address can be spoofed
ï Must compile, maintain, and distribute a list of
valid MAC addresses to each access point
ï Not a valid solution for public applications
 

 ½ ½!

ï SSID is the network name for a wireless network

ï WLAN products common defaults: ³101´ for 3COM and
³tsunami´ for Cisco
ï Can be required to specifically request the access
point by name (lets SSID act as a password)
ï The more people that know the SSID, the higher the
likelihood it will be misused.
ï Changing the SSID requires communicating the
change to all users of the network
|
G  

 |G!
ï Designed to be computationally efficient, self-
synchronizing, and exportable
ï Vulnerable to attack
± ÿassive attacks to decrypt traffic based on statistical analysis
± Active attacks to inject new traffic from unauthorized mobile
stations, based on known plaintext
± Dictionary-building attack that, after analysis of a day¶s worth
of traffic, allows real-time automated decryption of all traffic
ï All users of a given access point share the same
encryption key
ï Data headers remain unencrypted so anyone can see
the source and destination of the data stream
|½ 

ï Varies due to organization size and security

concerns
ï Current technology not ideal for large-scale
deployment and management
ï Will discuss a few tricks that can help the
process and a few technologies under
development to ease enterprise deployments
!
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ï Great for small (5-10 users) environments

ï se WEÿ (some vendors provide 128-bit
proprietary solution)
ï Only allow specific MAC addresses to access
the network
ï Rotate SSID and WEÿ keys every 30-60 days
ï No need to purchase additional hardware or
software.
!
|

 


 

 !
ï Intent to protect link between wireless client and
(assumed) more secure wired network
ï Similar to a VÿN and provides server authentication,
client authentication, data privacy, and integrity using
per session and per user short life keys
ï Simpler and more cost efficient than a VÿN
ï Cross-platform support and interoperability, not highly
scaleable, though
ï Supports Linux and Windows
ï Open Source (slan.sourceforge.net)
 

 


  

1. Client/Server Version Handshake

2. Diffie-Hellman ey Exchange
3. Server Authentication (public key fingerprint)
4. Client Authentication (optional) with ÿAM on
Linux
5. Iÿ Configuration ± Iÿ address pool and adjust
routing table
  

Client Application Encrypted Traffic to

ie Web Browser SLAN Server
ÿlaintext Traffic Encrypted Traffic

SLAN Driver ÿhysical Driver

ÿlaintext
Traffic Encrypted Traffic

ser Space ÿrocess

½
 |

ï 11-100 users
ï Can use MAC addresses, WEÿ and rotate
keys if you want.
ï Some vendors have limited MAC storage
ability
ï SLAN also an option
ï Another solution is to tunnel traffic through a
VÿN
½
 |

 


6

ï ÿrovides a scaleable authentication and

encryption solution
ï Does require end user configuration and a
strong knowledge of VÿN technology
ï sers must re-authenticate if roaming between
VÿN servers
6

 


6

 


G

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ï 100+ users
ï Reconfiguring WEÿ keys not feasible
ï Multiple access points and subnets
ï ÿossible solutions include VLANs, VÿNs,
custom solutions, and 802.1x
6

ï Combine wireless networks on one VLAN

segment, even geographically separated
networks.
ï se 802.1Q VLAN tagging to create a wireless
subnet and a VÿN gateway for authentication
and encryption
6

 


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ï Georgia Institute of Technology

ï Allows students with laptops to log on to the campus
network
ï ses VLANs, Iÿ Tables, and a Web browser
ï No end user configuration required
± ser access a web site and enters a userid and password
± Gateway runs specialized code authenticating the user with
erberos and packet filtering with IÿTables, adding the user¶s
Iÿ address to the allowed list to provide network access
# 

 


Ñ


ï General-purpose port based network access control

mechanism for 802 technologies
ï Based on AAA infrastructure (RADIS)
ï Also uses Extensible Authentication ÿrotocol (EAÿ,
RFC 2284)
ï Can provide dynamic encryption key exchange,
eliminating some of the issues with WEÿ
ï Roaming is transparent to the end user
Ñ

!

ï Could be implemented as early as 2002.

ï Cisco Aironet 350 supports the draft standard.
ï Microsoft includes support in Windows Xÿ
Ñ


 


R

 



ï NetMotion Wireless authenticates against a

Windows domain and uses better encryption
(3DES) than WEÿ. Also offers the ability to
remotely disable a wireless network card¶s
connection.
ï Fortress Wireless Link Layer Security (WLLS).
Improves WEÿ and works with 802.1x.
ï Enterasys provides proprietary RADIS
solution similar to 802.1x
  
 

ï Cannot forget client security

ï Distributed ÿersonal Firewalls
ï Strong end user security policies and
configurations
ï Laptop Theft Controls

 

ï Wireless LANs very useful and convenient, but

current security state not ideal for sensitive
environments.
ï Cahners In-Stat group predicts the market for
wireless LANs will be $2.2 billion in 2004, up
from $771 million in 2000.
ï Growing use and popularity require increased
focus on security

½
 

ï Mandy@arcsec.com
ï ÿresentation available for download at
www.arcsec.com and
www.survivingsecurity.com