Chapter 1. Understanding Wireless Network Security and Risks

In this chapter, we are going to review which wireless technologies allow data transfer, focusing on the Wi-Fi technology as the most important one for building our own penetration testing lab. As it is a very important topic for building a highly secure lab, we will also review the common Wi-Fi security mechanisms and their security risks in conjunction with an overview of the typical wireless attack methodology.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

• Understanding wireless environment and threats
• Common WLAN protection mechanisms and their flaws
• Getting familiar with the Wi-Fi attack workflow