Tips to protect your WiFi from hackers

It could happen to any one of us. Wake up one morning to discover  that the Indian  Mujahideen has hacked into our Internet account and sent out a  chilling mail claiming  responsibility for a terror attack on the nation. The e-mails sent out in the aftermath of the  Delhi and Ahmedabad  blasts reveal that  the Indian Mujhahideen hacked into unsecure WiFi networks to  send out the terror  e-mail. While this trend may continue thanks to the number of IT  professionals on the  Students Islamic Movement of India/Indian Mujahideen rolls,  it is up to us to  ensure that we take utmost care while using the Internet. Sameer Shekle, co-founder and COO, Aujas Networks,  a digital security services  provider, says Internet users could adopt the following  methods to ensure that  s/he is safe.Disabling the SSID broadcast. To some  extent this makes it difficult for the  hacker to detect the presence of a WiFi access point. Enable MAC address filter. Each  network interface has a unique MAC address, by filtering  it, one can to an extent control  which machines can use the acces point.Turn on WPA/WEP  encryption. This ensures  that traffic between a legitimate machine and an access point  is not readable.Change default admin passwords for access points.Ensure access  points are placed securely.  In the centre of a room/office etc to minimise its signal strength  outside the office. Even after following the above precautions, your WiFI account  could be compromised  and hence, the things to look at are: Monitor usage of the access point. Have a clear inventory  and knowledge about t he position of each access point. Monitor the usage of the Internet link, to know what traffic is  going out. For  example, some corporate block e-mail providers like yahoo  or hotmail. Hence,  even if the access point is compromised, the hacker may  not be able to use  public e-mail systems. Consider a specific security policy for wireless networks.  For example, most  companies primarily use wired networks in the office as  the primary media.  Access points are used in common areas like conferences  rooms etc. Hence,  strict policies can be deployed on wireless networks as  compared to wired  networks. Role of Digital Forensics: Digital Forensics means the analysis of electronic media to  detect forgery or  manipulation. It is used to identify possible culprits and also  to gather legal  evidence to be used for prosecution. Digital Forensics is a highly-specialised area and if not done  using the right skills  and tools could lead to evidence being deleted or not usable  in the court of law.  It is similar to that of criminal forensics and hence needs  special skills and tools.  Hence, it would be advisable for companies to understand  their responsibility and  the do's and don'ts during a breach. Public e-mails systems have limited information about its  users and normally  provide it to law enforcement agencies on special request.  This information is  picked up during e-mail ID creation, usage etc. Most usual information picked up is the source of the Internet  Protocol, which can  be masked using techniques like using others' WiFi networks.  Hence, unless  e-mail providers enable higher security mechanisms  like special authentication  while creating users not much can be done. It is not easy for  e-mail providers to  do this as, by definition, these e-mail systems are free and open  for people to use.

 

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