14 Dec 2023
WIFI made it so easy for everyone to use the internet on a computer, mobile phone, tablet, and other wireless devices anywhere in the house without cables. It is challenging for someone to steal your bandwidth from wired networks. Securing your online connections is specially important while sending money abroad. Most individuals create a password to protect their wireless network, preventing unauthorized users from taking over. We should take wireless security more seriously and go beyond setting a password because it is so important.
Many IT administrators argue that nothing important is on the wireless network because critical servers and applications are migrating to the cloud. This feeling obscures an apparent reality. The systems of your end users are connected to the Wi-Fi network. A hacker has a chance to access other IT resources if they can gain direct access to your users' computers. The system is still the entry point to the IT resources your users use daily, notwithstanding the migration of essential apps and infrastructure components to the cloud. We will now provide you with some recommended practices for this reason and others.
It is usually preferable to address security flaws upfront rather than afterward.
If no family uses the internet at home, the wireless router's LED blinks consistently. This indicates that a third party—likely one of your neighbors—is utilizing your Wireless (Wi-Fi) network. Your wireless network can easily be made secure. As a result, no one will be able to access your data through hackers or steal your internet. The steps are as follows.
The default username and password with wireless routers must be entered to install and connect to the router. Any password to secure your Wi-Fi network should be lengthy and predictable to make it not easier for hackers to guess or break. Changes to access names and passwords will make it highly challenging for anyone to log in. At least 20 characters, made up of a mix of numbers, letters, and different symbols, should make up a secure wireless network password.
Whether it's your laptop or a mobile phone with Wi-Fi, every one of your wireless devices has a specific MAC address. To ensure that only the designated devices may connect to your Wi-Fi network, you can add the MAC addresses of all your devices to the wireless router's settings. The number of devices connected to your wireless network might be restricted. This stops unauthorized devices from using the network's resources and they cannot attack you while your online money transfer.
Suppose your wireless router network is long-range, yet you live in a small studio apartment. If so, consider converting your router to 802.11g mode (rather than 802.11n or 802.11b) or using a different wireless channel to shorten the signal's range. To partially limit the direction of signals, you can conceal the router, put it inside a shoe box, or wrap foil around its antennas.
A VPN, or virtual private network, will assist you in remaining safe and secure online while maintaining the privacy of all your information. Encrypting from one end to the other protects your data from prying eyes and hackers. Theoretically, even if hackers gained access to your network, they would be unable to harm your system because a VPN would be continuously functioning.
Ensure that your organization's name does not appear in your SSID. Sounds easy enough, but businesses frequently provide attackers access to their networks—additionally, the likelihood of being hacked increases if the company is located in a densely populated location. Hackers can and will likely continue scanning for your Wi-Fi network even with an innocent-sounding SSID, and they might discover it. However, an innocent-sounding identity raises the bar an attacker would need to clear to access the network. Thus, generic SSIDs undoubtedly contribute to strong Wi-Fi security even though it is not a “must-have.”
Another best practice for wireless network security is to enable WPA3 security. The newest and safest wireless security protocol is WPA3. It offers more robust protection than WPA2 and should be utilized whenever practical.
Make careful to search for routers that support this most modern security standard when buying a router. Since earlier protocols were simpler to hack, it's crucial to ensure WPA3 is activated.
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) enables devices to find and connect automatically. This is a security risk since it allows unauthorized devices to connect to the network. You can turn off UPnP by going to the wireless router's configuration page. You may also turn off UPnP by going to the settings menu on specific devices.
Another best practice for wireless network security is the use of a firewall. A firewall assists in network security by preventing unauthorized incoming traffic. This can be crucial in preventing malware and other harmful software attacks.
Access the wireless router's configuration page and turn on the feature to utilize a firewall. Network-based and host-based firewalls are the two main categories of firewalls. Host-based firewalls can be deployed on individual devices, whereas network-based firewalls are frequently employed in business settings.
Keep visitors from using your company's private network. When guests come to your office, setting up a different network for them in your wireless access points (WAPs) and giving them a passcode is simple. In a perfect world, you'd have a system that gives them unique access. Ultimately, that is more of a perk than a mandatory requirement. Keeping your production network isolated from your guest network is a crucial, compulsory part of this stage.
Using Wi-Fi access management to verify each user on your wireless network is an excellent way to increase Wi-Fi security. This is how wired networks work, and it's proven very successful in terms of security. The Wi-Fi network should retain that special access. Due to the level of work, organizations have yet to refrain from using this strategy. IT departments must set up RADIUS servers and connect them to a central directory service to provide Wi-Fi network users with authenticated access. Both of these answers need to be improved in many businesses, and they need more time to put them into practice.
Both directory services and RADIUS can be provided using contemporary SaaS-based solutions, freeing IT from labor-intensive installation, configuration, and management tasks. IT administrators only need to point their WAPs at the cloud-based RADIUS servers; the Directory-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform handles the rest. IT companies receive a network that only authorized users can access.
The following and final step in this guide to enhancing your Wi-Fi security is network segmentation with VLANs. When you use the appropriate DaaS platform and have compatible WAPs, you can segment your network so that only users assigned to particular network segments can access those segments. All users are connected to the same network when using a network that has not been separated. This implies that engineering, finance, and marketing all occupy the same network area. Imagine that a finance employee's machine was compromised. That means that the attacker can now access the entire network.
Now that the network has been divided, the only vulnerable area is the money sector. And although that is not ideal, it significantly reduces the attack surface. Per-user VLAN tagging also enables you to get even more specific. But regrettably, VLANs experience the same implementation issues as RADIUS servers. Making it function takes a tonne of effort. Unless you make use of the Directory-as-a-Service platform, that is.
Implementing these practices for wireless network security is vital to safeguard the network from potential threats while you send money online to your home. By deactivating superfluous services, changing the default password, and enabling two-factor authentication, you can make it more difficult for unauthorized users to obtain access to the network.
Additionally, deactivating UPnP and utilizing a firewall can aid network security. You may contribute to ensuring the security of your wireless network by adhering to these best practices.
Securing your Wi-Fi network is crucial to prevent unauthorized access, protect your personal and sensitive information, and ensure the privacy and security of your internet connection.
Basic steps include changing the default router login credentials, enabling WPA3 encryption, using a strong Wi-Fi password, hiding your network's SSID (network name), and regularly updating your router's firmware.
WPA3 is the latest encryption protocol for Wi-Fi networks. It offers stronger security by using more robust encryption methods, making it more resistant to attacks and unauthorized access compared to older encryption standards like WPA2.
A strong Wi-Fi password should be long, and include a mix of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters. It's important because a weak password is vulnerable to brute force attacks, where hackers attempt to guess or crack your password to gain access to your network.
Yes, you can implement MAC address filtering to specify which devices can connect to your network, set up a guest network for visitors, and regularly monitor connected devices to detect and prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, consider enabling firewall features on your router for an added layer of security.
