Analysis of possible threats of wireless network based on the microcontroller ESP8266

DOI №______

Abstract

The article analyzes the main technical means and systems used to organize an attack on the Wi-Fi network. The structure of the microchip is revealed and the purpose of its components is explained. The technical characteristics of the device used for attacks on the Wi-Fi network are given. The variants of main and secondary types of microchips are presented. The possibility of application, for the help of the computer, and tablets, smartphones and other mobile equipment, is analyzed. This device is so tiny you can fit into pocket and carry it anywhere. It can powered through your power bank or 3.7v Lithiumion battery. You can select which Wi-Fi network you want to jamming and attack on it. The 802.11 Wi-Fi protocol contains a so called deauthentication frame. It is used to disconnect clients safely from a wireless network. Because these packets are unencrypted, you just need the mac address of the Wi-Fi router and of the client device which you want to disconnect from the network. You don’t need to be in the network or know the password, it’s enough to be in its range. You can perform multiple attacks on this device such as you can jamming any particular wifi network or you can do beacon spam or random beacon spam or you can simple deauthorize all. This software allows you to easily perform a variety of actions to test 802.11 wireless networks by using an inexpensive ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC (System On A Chip). The main feature, the deauthentication attack, is used to disconnect devices from their Wi-Fi network. No one seems to care about this huge vulnerability in the official 802.11 Wi-Fi standard, so I took action and begin to study this device with a price less than 10 USD to spare to recreate this project. I hope it raises more attention on the issue. In 2009 the Wi-Fi Alliance actually fixed the problem (see 802.11w), but only a few companies implemented it into their devices and software. To effectively prevent a deauthentication attack, both client and access point must support the 802.11w standard with protected management frames (PMF). While most client devices seem to support it when the access point forces it, basically no Wi-Fi access point has it enabled.

Keywords: Internet; computer; microchip; Wi-Fi network; information security; attacks on wireless networks.

References
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