New Way to ID Invisible Intruders on Wireless LANs

Bergkamp10 writes "Australia's University of Technology in Queensland has created a groundbreaking new system that can detect invisible intruders on wireless LANs. Wireless networks have been almost impossible to thoroughly secure as they possess no clearly defined boundaries, instead they are defined by the quality and strength of the receiving antenna. QUT Information Security Institute researcher Dr Jason Smith has invented a new system to detect eavesdropping on unencrypted networks or active hijackings of computer sessions when a legitimate user who is logged onto the network leaves the connection. Smith has created a series of monitoring techniques that when used together can detect both attackers and configuration mistakes in network devices."

Comments

Doesn't seem to practical

[faloi]

The description is, basically, they use the signal strength and round trip times of the signals to figure out if someone unauthorized is on your network. The downside is that, in large corporate wireless networks, I would think people tend to be pretty mobile and there won't be a reliable indicator that the odd signal from slightly too far away isn't just somebody who remembered one last thing on the way to their car. Smaller wireless networks aren't likely to care enough to spend the time it takes to tell.

It's an interesting idea, but I have a hard time seeing it become widespread.

How is this ground breaking?

[computerchimp]

1) hopping from one router to another is detected via traditional means
2) higher than average roundtrip times are noticed via traditional means
3) signal is triangulated via traditional means to put a location on a suspected signal.

A new but an obvious proceedure that someone has decided to put to paper and product. It is a nice product to notice but this is about as ground breaking as peanut butter and chocolate.

CC