What

An evil twin AP will mimic a legitimate AP, spoofing its SSID and unique MAC address. Attackers can then intercept traffic and insert themselves into the data conversation between the victim and the servers that the victim accesses while connected to the evil twin
access point.

How

Once the victim is connected, the attacker can steal credentials, inject malicious code into the victim browsers, redirect the victim to a malware site, and so much more.

Example

On your lunch break you decide its finally time to update your wardrobe – nothing wrong with that! But a hacker is using an evil twin access point and you’ve now unsuspectedly connected to their copy of your Wi-Fi SSID. Once you go to check out and enter in your credit card information to order that new dress, the hacker has your information and is ready to go sell it on the dark web.

What

In busy networks where new APs are being deployed, it can be too easy for network administrators to accidentally make a configuration mistake such as making a private SSID open with no encryption, potentially exposing sensitive information to interception over the air.

How

This can happen any time an access point isn’t set up properly (like leaving default settings
unchanged for example).

Example

An AP gets shipped from corporate to your new office and Charles, the receptionist, volunteers to set it up! He follows the instructions and installs the AP that’s now broadcasting an open SSID, which is leaking private data like a sieve. You can’t blame him, because he’s not an IT pro, but you’re still left with a misconfigured AP that could be a serious risk to your organisation.

What

A rogue AP is a wireless AP that has been installed on a secure network without explicit authorisation from an administrator.

How

Rogue APs are connected to the authorized network, usually with an open SSID, allowing the
attackers to bypass your perimeter security. This could be with a physical AP, or one created in software on a computer and bridged to an authorised network.

Example

You own a retail store that has customers coming in and out all day. When it’s busy, it’s impossible to keep an eye on everyone there every second of the day. It’s easy for someone to plug in the cheapest AP they could get and they’re now able to gain access to the company’s private secure network and can hijack POS systems to reveal credit card numbers and more.

What

Any client previously connected to a rogue AP or other malicious AP within the range of a private network is considered a rogue client.

How

A client typically becomes categorised as rogue if it has connected to any rogue AP, evil twin, or other malicious AP while within range of a private WLAN network. This client could have been victimised by a plethora of man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks that include loading ransomworms, malware, or backdoors onto the client

Example

You stop by the same café on the way to work every day. Since you’ve connected to their
Wi-Fi network before, your phone automatically connects as soon as you set foot in the door.
Unfortunately, that day, someone had set up an evil twin AP, tricked your phone, and infected your phone while you’re in range of your private wireless local area network (WLAN) with ransomware for you to take back to the office. As soon as you’re back at your desk, your phone connects to your corporate Wi-Fi and the ransomware is off and running!

What

When an authorised client connects to a guest or external, neighbouring AP, bypassing the company’s perimeter security and getting around security restrictions set by the firewall.

How

There’s no super-secret hacker trick to this one. Any of your employees could be (and probably are) doing this right now. By choosing to connect their devices to the guest network or the coffee shop network downstairs, your employees are easily bypassing the security you’ve built into your network.

Example

Janice in marketing cannot get through the morning without listening to her favorite new
soundtrack. Her phone is almost dead, so she wants to use her company-issued computer to connect to a streaming site. Her company’s firewall restricts access to streaming music, but that’s no worry for Janice – she’ll just connect to the downstairs coffee shop’s unsecure Wi-Fi and start listening away. Unfortunately for you, a hacker is sipping his first cup of coffee, just waiting for her to connect and get to work on accessing your network.

What

A peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection between clients that lets two or more devices communicate with each other directly, circumventing your network security policies and making the traffic completely invisible.

How

With a few simple clicks in your settings, any one of your employees could quickly set up an ad-hoc network between their colleague’s devices. This can create security and legal implications that could ultimately impact your business.

Example

As a meeting is getting ready to start, Carl’s boss is STILL waiting for that file he promised would be there this morning. It would take him too long to use the corporate-approved secure network file sharing, so he decides to set up an ad-hoc network to send it directly from laptop to laptop. Unfortunately for you, this opens the door to potential legal and security repercussions for your business.