Company Network Infrastructure Vulnerabilities

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Alliah Company Network Infrastructure Vulnerabilities Cameron F. Finley Student #000761328 Western Governor’s University C844: Emerging Technologies in Cybersecurity

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Alliah Network Vulnerabilities

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Table of Contents A.

WLAN vulnerabilities on the Alliah network......................................................................................3

B.

Mobile vulnerabilities..........................................................................................................................4

C.

Mitigation and remediation of Alliah WLAN/mobile vulnerabilities...................................................5

D.

Small business security measures........................................................................................................6

E.

Bring your own device (BYOD) security............................................................................................7

F.

References...........................................................................................................................................8

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A. WLAN vulnerabilities on the Alliah network According to the scenario presented that describes the Alliah Company WLAN environment, there are multiple elements that can be considered weaknesses in the strength of Alliah’s network. Alliah’s headquarters is in a large three-story converted warehouse with a large back patio area for employees and a vacant third floor ready for expansion. Both areas are serviced by the company Wi-Fi via access points placed around the facility. Access points (AP’s) are dummy devices that are centrally administered by a wireless LAN controller and mindlessly transmit network connection information such as the network name (SSID), encryption type (if any), and strength of signal.

Leaving a large, open area exposed with broad Wi-Fi coverage leaves the company network vulnerable to snooping and eavesdropping which is an entry point for a larger scale attack.

According to the scenario, Alliah only has one employee that is responsible for monitoring and administering their corporate network. That means it is highly unlikely that the AP covering the back-patio area has been hardened to industry standards.

Even if it is, however, there is the open nature of wireless signals that present the opportunity for even an unskilled assailant to commit the act of war driving. War driving is a technique used by hackers using a simple Wi-Fi scanner to pick up signals from access points that are broadcasting potentially sensitive information about the network the attacker could use to find weaknesses in security. Considering the size of the building and lack of dedicated security personnel, this would be a rather easy feat.

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The same security weaknesses allow an attacker – or team of attackers – the ability set up shop on the third floor of the warehouse without anyone form team Alliah knowing. With an entire floor of a 10,000 square foot building available and unoccupied, and little to no physical security, it would be all too easy for attackers to make their way to the third floor and configure an entire attack infrastructure. From there they could implement any number of weapons to infiltrate the Alliah network: rogue access points, Evil Twin access points, network sniffing equipment, etc.

B. Mobile vulnerabilities In the Alliah scenario, sales employees are described as having company issued smartphones, tablets, and laptops. The rest of the team is responsible for providing their own mobile device in a bring your own device (BYOD) structure. Despite providing the sales team with company owned devices, the fact that there are three of them per team member creates a very large potential attack surface. It is noted in the scenario that the network is only protected with a firewall. Users with remote devices that travel frequently are assumed to be connecting to the corporate network via the public internet. This is an inherently dangerous system that puts the entire corporate network at risk.

Mobile operating systems present unique challenges to the security landscape as well. There are varying degrees of assurances provided by the different types of operating systems. With the company owned devices, Alliah can control permissions, applications, access controls, etc. that can alleviate concerns from end user weakness. There are no such assurances with the BYOD model without administration tools, however. When employees use their personal devices for work as well, the company does not know what information is being shared, what applications are being run on user devices, or how the devices are being used. Employee mobile devices become vulnerable to data theft, impersonation attacks, surveillance attacks, and more.

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C. Mitigation and remediation of Alliah WLAN/mobile vulnerabilities Techniques that can be used to mitigate described vulnerabilities in the company wireless network include implementing enterprise level, securing the physical space of company headquarters, conducting regular network scans, and properly implementing a secure network architecture. Something that specifically needs to be addressed are the broadcast ranges of the access points, so they don’t broadcast above the second floor or too far out into the patio in the back of the facility.

Addressing the physical security of the building should also be a top priority. From the description in the scenario, there is no member of staff that is dedicated to managing the security of the building and grounds. There is also approximately 33% of the building unoccupied and unmonitored which could allow bad actors easy access to the building and its infrastructure.

Although there is no specific information about the authentication mechanisms use to access the Alliah WLAN, it is a reasonable assumption that they are not using industry standard best practices.

That said, the first and most critical step to securing the network is to ensure the design of the network is as secure as possible in the first place. This would be done by would be to implement enterprise level encryption and access methods via the WPA2 standard. WPA2 uses pre-shared keys encrypted with the AES algorithm and supports RADIUS authentication for an added layer of access security. Using WPA2 prevents eavesdropping, Evil Twin, and rogue access point vulnerabilities.

Finally, given there are five employees that are presumable accessing the corporate network remotely over the public internet, there absolutely needs to be a virtual private network (VPN) connection between headquarters and those users. A VPN creates a private tunnel for remote

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users to connect to a private network using the public connections used for the rest of the internet. This is done in an enterprise by installing a dedicated device called a VPN concentrator that provides and filters connection services to the corporate network from users using public routes.

D. Small business security measures As with any corporate security posture, a good WLAN and mobile security program should use a combination of administrative, physical, and logical/technical controls known as defense in depth. Defense in depth generally starts with administrative controls. Administrative controls are the written documentation of policies and programs the company puts in place for employee there needs to be an overarching written security policy. (“WLAN security,” n.d.)

Elements of the policy and supplemental material should include an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), system baselines, a business continuity and disaster recovery plan.

Physical controls should include perimeter defenses around the building such as fences, lighting consideration preventing attackers from sneaking into the facility, appropriate access mechanisms such as smart locks, surveillance cameras, and perhaps even human security guards patrolling the premises.

Currently, Alliah’s network is only protected by a perimeter firewall. That is not nearly good enough for a fast-growing company with potential global reach. Technical and logical controls should include intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), host and network antivirus protections, and a VPN concentrator for remote connections.

Alliah being a company that produces a social media platform, traffics almost primarily in the personal information and data of its users. With the public’s increasing awareness of how

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companies are handling their personal data, particularly in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, governments and private industry regulations that frame how personal data is handled are becoming more and more common. Two notable government regulations are the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Both are the strictest data privacy laws that levy heavy penalties for noncompliance and devote much of their language to the importance of protecting user data from unauthorized use or capture. Critical to maintaining compliance is to manage access to user data and create a culture of prevention using the techniques described above.

Furthermore, when combined with current federal electronic communications regulations such as the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a heavily regulated landscape exists for companies that operate in the technology space. In addition to international, federal, and state legislation, industry standard frameworks such as NIST 800-153 provide guidance for example suggesting standardized security configurations for common WLAN components.

E. Bring your own device (BYOD) security The key to a secure BYOD program is the implementation and maintenance of a robust mobile device management (MDM) platform such as AirWatch (“Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) | VMware AirWatch,” n.d.). AirWatch enables an organization to segment employee data and applications from company data and applications while using their personal device. Ensuring that user devices meet certain conditions and secure parameters. A successful MDM program allows administrators to keep an inventory of allowed devices on their network, manage the applications allowed on their network, and minimize operating costs without sacrificing security. (“6 Reasons

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Alliah Network Vulnerabilities

Why Successful Companies Use MDM,” n.d.). Employing an MDM to manage your BYOD program also allows staff to participate voluntarily if they want.

F. References 6 Reasons Why Successful Companies Use MDM. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2019, from Miradore website: https://www.miradore.com/learn-more/next-generation-it/6-reasonswhy-successful-companies-use-mobile-device-management/ Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) | VMware AirWatch. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2019, from https://www.air-watch.com/capabilities/bring-your-own-device-byod/ WLAN security: Best practices for wireless network security. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2019, from SearchSecurity website: https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/WLANsecurity-Best-practices-for-wireless-network-security

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