Cisco 1100 *basic* security

[klong98]

Just a quick question from a wireless newbie- how likely is it that someone from outside could get into a wireless network with only the following configured?

MAC address filtering with 3 specific MAC addresses of wireless devices in use.

Changed the default admin logon (of course) and the SSID. Set the AP to not broadcast the SSID.

No WEP or any other security. In this particular configuration, the potential for sniffing the Web-site traffic being broadcast isn't a big deal.

How easy is it to spoof one of the three specific MAC addresses (not knowing what they are) or to bypass MAC filtering altogether? Can the MAC be sniffed off the air?

Thank you!

Ken

[derwin]

With that configuration any basic 802.11 sniffer will get you the MAC addresses in a few seconds and then a savy user could changer their MAC address

While it is still pretty easy to find out the MAC address if you also add 128 bit WEP and MIC and TKIP then it will be very hard for the unauthorized user to pass any traffic on your network even with some of the more advance WEP crack tools

[klong98]

Thank you... for MIC and TKIP do I need to have each device running a Cisco-brand Wireless adapter? I have a Dell laptop right now running a Dell-brand wireless adapter that seems to support WEP and EAP.

[derwin]

MIC and TKIP you do need Cisco cards or Cisco Certified CCX cards for these features but the good news is MIC and TKIP have been built into the WPA standard so in the future just about all cards will support this

[klong98]

Thank you again... as of right now, do all Cisco cards support these specs? I'll be needing three PC cards, and I'm thinking of the Cisco 350 series. We buy from CDW, and the descriptions only talk about 128-bit WEP for security.

Ken

[derwin]

Hi Ken,

yes all the Cisco cards support these features, the 350's are a good choice