Autonomic 802.11 wireless LAN security auditing

Abstract

The Distributed Wireless Security Auditor (DWSA), which has been designed to secure 802.11b wireless local area networks (WLAN), is discussed. The application works toward finding unauthorized wireless access points in large-scale wireless environments while providing an autonomic and unobstrusive layer of network protection. The Linux- and Windows-based implementations provide continuous wireless assessments by harnessing the power of trusted wireless clients as distributed anomaly sensors throughout a company's network infrastructure. Using periodic security reports, a back-end server detects rogue and misconfigured access points and subsequently locates them via 3D trilateration.