Apologies if this link has been posted already but may be of interest to
those who haven't yet seen it. From New Scientist's website:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99992760

Also check out: http://www.blackalchemy.to/Projects/fakeap/fake-ap.html


"Airwave camouflage to stop drive-by hacking"


Software that generates a blizzard of bogus wireless network access points
could bamboozle hackers trying to access corporate and home computer
networks.

This would stop them stealing wireless surfing time and exploring corporate
wireless networks, say the two US computer programmers behind the scheme.

It would certainly complicate matters for most wireless assailants, says one
security expert. But the extra challenge may well spur some on to improve
their attack methods, he adds.

Wireless network hacking has become an increasingly popular activity in the
last few years. Networks have sprung up across cities and many are
vulnerable to well-documented holes in their default set-ups.

Software tools that can be downloaded for free from the internet, such as
Netstumbler and Kismet, automatically search the airwaves for vulnerable
networks. The practice of travelling around a city searching for networks to
exploit has been dubbed "wardriving".


Breaking in


Fake AP (Access Point) aims to stop would-be hackers by generating 53,000
bogus wireless access points in the vicinity of the one real access point.
Only those with access rights will then be able to distinguish quickly the
real point of entry through this airwave camouflage.

The program was developed by Stuart Stock and Ken Beames, two computer
programmers in the US. In the program documentation the pair write:
"Wardriving tools will see thousands of APs pop up on their screens. While
more knowledgeable individuals will spot these fake APs for what they are,
those with less clue will be generally befuddled."

Matt Bevan, a wireless security consultant in the UK and himself ex-hacker,
says anything that hides a wireless access point will help but adds that
some determined hackers might relish the extra challenge.

"I'm sure it wouldn't take too long to write something to check each access
point quickly," he told New Scientist. "And you might find that people find
it more of a challenge."

This story is from NewScientist.com's news service - for more exclusive news
and expert analysis every week subscribe to New Scientist print edition.

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