csua.org/u/ck2 -> www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321136209/qid=1120112101/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7045555-9880802
The authors handle complex topics nicely, and offe r significant clarification of IEEE draft standards." " --John Viega, founder and chief scientist, Secure Software, Inc. "This book keeps the exposition as straightforward as possible and enable s you to cut through the maze of acronyms, hacking tools, rumored weakne sses, and vague vendor security claims to make educated security decisio ns when purchasing or deploying WLAN." But how can privacy and securit y be maintained effectively? This is the book that will show you how to establish real security within your Wi-Fi LAN. Recent developments in Wi-Fi security achieve what no amount of reconfigu ration can do: They solve the problem at the source. Wi-Fi Protected Acc ess (WPA) repairs weaknesses in existing Wi-Fi systems and is designed t o allow software upgrades. It provides an overview of security issues, explains h ow security works in Wi-Fi networks, and explores various security and a uthentication protocols. The book concludes with an in-depth discussion of real-world security issues and attack tools. Written by two experts in wireless security, Jon Edney and William Arbaug h, this book shows you how to stay informed and aware when making securi ty decisions, and what steps you can take to implement the most effectiv e, proactive wireless security now and in the future. After InTalk was acquired by Nokia Cor poration, he focused on the application of Wi-Fi to public access networ ks. William A Arbaugh is an assistant professor of computer science at the U niversity of Maryland in College Park, where he conducts research in inf ormation systems security. Arbaugh served as a senior computer scientist for the National Security Agency's Office of Research and Technology, a nd then as senior technical advisor for the Office of Advanced Network P rograms. He has many publications to his credit and has delivered papers at security-related conferences such as IEEE, SANS, USENIX, and Comdex.
The company I work for is moving more and more to wireless to provide connectivity to our customers. In terms of understanding architecture, and the cryptography behind the s ecurity protocols this was my favorite book. My favorite chapter was the how WEP works and why it doesn't. The writing was clear and the explana tions were accurate. I also loved chapter 15, that equipped me to explai n why wireless networks are dangerous beasts with detail. It is a tougher read than some of the other books on the subject, the goo d news is that you understand the cryptography, the bad news is you have to work through the pages with the crytography. I think it would have been a stronger, more focused work without chapters 2, 3, and 4 An y reader that is willing to wade through the inner workings of TLS, TKIP or WPA doesn't need a security overview. Also, I really wish more effor t had been put into chapter 14, Public Wireless Hotspots. It is good, it covers the fundamentals, but I finished the chapter without increasing my understanding of a question every reader of the book will have. Do I dare check my (encrypted) email at a Starbucks or airport hot spot?
See all my re views This is a very advanced book, not for the meek at heart. Exceptionally we ll written with five pages of references, three pages of acronyms and th ree appendices: AES encryption / block cipher, message modification and file integrity. The authors spare no details about wireless security, ye t are still able to make thing easy to understand. Edney and Arbaugh show just how "loose" current wireless systems really a re, their vulnerabilities and the most common attack methods used, inclu ding man in the middle, WEP cracking and MAC spoofing. They detail the l ayers of transmittion and how those layers interact in the most common w ireless scenarios. They also define the terms and uses of current wirele ss security including the latest methods under development. They dig down to t he actual tools and processes used to hack wireless networks and give ex cellent summaries of the most commonly used methods. Their examples deta il the uses of headers, their encryption and the algorithms used by each security protocol. They then show how each protocol is broken down, how server and client interact and the security holes present. After a good overview of the current landscape, Edney and Arbaugh go on t o show the reader how each protocol stacks up against one another, thus allowing the reader greater flexibility to decide just which type or typ es of security maybe right for their wireless environment. They also give very good examples of the problems inherent to communication and au thentication in highly mobile, fast paced environments. The authors go i nto the details and difficulties of how to strengthen wireless networks thru the understanding and use of algorithms, hardware authentication an d transport layer security. Edney and Arbaugh finalize their book by showing how the protocols are ap plied and the details of implementing Wi-Fi security in day-to-day actua l situations. They use screen shots of actual tools in use making it eas ier for the novice radio buff to understand the whole process. Any white hat will enjoy the final chapter as the authors proceed to show details on how to craft your own client and server side certificates, construct and harden a RADIUS server using open source software and plan your net work. A must read for all IT professionals running wireless in any sensitive en vironment.
Most books simply reiterate the basics of wireless sec urity architecture and then spend a chapter or two on the hacking tools for locating networks and defeating WEP. Edney and Arbaugh start with th e basic insecurities, and then build on the explanation layer after laye r from the overview to the cryptography and its implementation. You as t he reader decide how deep your understanding needs to go. As its title suggests, i t is focused on the issues of security so don't expect a general treatme nt of Wireless Architecture in addition.
However, with this book, the authors explain the concepts in a clear and simple matter. Yes, it was actually fun reading about how encryption and the security suites can protect WLANs. I highly recommend this book to everyone who owns and operates an access point including beginners at home and exper ts in the enterprise.
It covered the basics of wireless securi ty starting from the ground and working up. It was organized well so tha t if a section was already familiar you could simply jump forward. There is the occasional section where the theory starts to get a little deep, but they warn you and instruct you to skip over the section if it is of no interest. This was my first book on wireless security and will provide a good basis to move forward to vendor specific security and eventual certification. A great place to start with enough depth to provide a learning opportun ity for the more experienced.
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