4 Proof of Concept Experiment
To further illustrate the unique vulnerabilities encountered
due to the lack of mutual authentication and network
promiscuity that arises with mobile computing we implemented
a proof of concept software download MITM attack.
Unlike the attacks in the previous section this attack is
intended to take advantage of the roaming between administrative
domains. Once a wireless client is compromised
by installing trojaned software, it brings that threat to any
other network it encounters.
The scenario we shall consider is a Rogue Access Point
in a corporate or university setting where a WEP key is established
and only verified MAC addresses are permitted.
This Rogue AP could be created by a valid user, using the
authentication information he was given for his personal
use. It could also be created by an outside attacker who
has retrieved theWEP key via Airsnort and a MAC address
that he has observed by sniffing network traffic. Please note
that the attack could be modified to fit several different scenarios.
The attacker will first authenticate to the existing network
as a valid client with one WiFi card. A second WiFi
card will be used to create the Rogue AP. It will emulate
a valid AP as best it can. He can use the same SSID and
require the same WEP key.
As clients connect, some will doubtlessly accidentally
connect to the Rogue AP. If the attacker wants to target a
specific wireless client he can do so. If the attacker knows
the target clients MAC address he could force the clients
disassociation from the legitimate AP until the client associates
with the Rogue AP. Now, he will have complete control
over the traffic of any client that has associated with