Australian Information Security Management Conference
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publisher
SRI Security Research Institute, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia
Abstract
This research examines the current level of security in wireless networks in New Zealand. A comprehensive wardrive covering the length of the country was made in January 2013 to ensure accurate comparisons from two previous wardrives as well as comparisons between the four main cities and the suburbs can be made. With 16 years since the introduction of the original IEEE 802.11 wireless standard having passed, an examination is made of the current state of wireless security of networks throughout New Zealand and the Auckland suburbs, and where possible compares these results with similar studies undertaken in 2004 and 2011. Additionally, comparisons are made with growth of numbers of access points, security standards implementations and channel selections. This study looks at whether wireless network security has reached the levels hoped for in 1999 when security was built in to the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11b standards and concludes that whilst vastly improved, there is still some way to go. Finally, some recommendations are made as to what still needs to be addressed to ensure efficient and secure communications with wireless networks.
DOI
10.4225/75/57b567a3cd8e6
Comments
11th Australian Information Security Management Conference, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, 2nd-4th December, 2013