In this lesson,
we're going to dive into the fascinating world
of wireless signal exploitation,
and it'll be focused on signal jamming and wardriving.
We're also going to discuss WiGLE.net,
which is a platform that shows the results
of other wardriving efforts,
and inSSIDer, which is a popular Wi-Fi scanning tool
that you can use while you're wardriving.
Now, first, let's talk about signal jamming.
Signal jamming is the act
of disrupting wireless communication
by overwhelming the frequency with noise or another signal.
This can prevent devices from connecting to the network
or communicating effectively.
Let's imagine that you're in a room full of people
and you're all talking at once.
It's going to be really challenging
to hear any single conversation clearly.
Well, that's what signal jamming
is trying to do to your wireless signals.
Now, it's important to note here
that signal jamming is considered
to be illegal in many places
because of its potential to disrupt emergency communications
and other critical services.
Second, let's talk about wardriving.
Now, wardriving is the practice
of searching for Wi-Fi networks
by moving around a geographic area,
usually by using a vehicle.
That's why we call it wardriving.
Now, if you're equipped with a laptop or a smartphone
along with a Wi-Fi scanning tool,
you can actually map out the networks available
in any given area by driving around that neighborhood
or driving around that office park.
This can help identify unsecured or poorly secured networks
that could be potential targets for penetration testing.
Now, the next thing we need to talk about
is a useful tool for wardriving,
and it's known as WiGLE.net.
Now, WiGLE is spelled out as W-i-G-L-E.n-e-t,
and it's a website that collects and maps the locations
of Wi-Fi networks discovered by users around the world.
When you're wardriving,
you can actually contribute to WiGLE.net
by uploading your findings,
but always make sure you ask your client
if you can do that first,
because otherwise, you're really telling the world
what open networks your client has.
Now, this data can be valuable,
because it allows you to see
the wireless landscape of an area
and identify potential targets
without even leaving your desk.
For example, you can go onto WiGLE.net
and start searching for networks in a specific area
to understand the density
and security of the Wi-Fi networks there,
and this is really useful
if your office that you're looking at is in an office park
where there's lots of other businesses around.
Another useful tool for wardriving
is what's known as inSSIDer.
Now, inSSIDer is spelled i-n-S-S-I-D-e-r,
and it's a Wi-Fi scanning tool
that helps you visualize wireless networks
inside of your general area.
When you run inSSIDer,
it's going to display detailed information
about each network that it detects,
including the signal strength,
channel, security type, and more.
This can help you identify
which networks are worth investigating further
and which ones aren't that important.
For example, if you find a network
with weak security settings like WEP
or no encryption at all,
it'll be a great candidate
for you to use inside of your penetration test.
When you're using inSSIDer,
it's a pretty straightforward process.
You'll install the software on your laptop,
and as you drive around or walk around with it,
it will continually scan the airwaves for Wi-Fi signals.
The interface will show you the SSIDs
of the nearby networks, their signal strength,
and the channels they're operating on.
This information is going to be critical for you,
because it allows you to identify the networks
that might be overlapping on the same channel,
which could cause interference
and reduce overall performance
or identify ones that are not strongly protected.
This way you'll also be able to look at
and see which ones are strongly protected.
For example, if you see a network that inSSIDer's reporting
as having a security protocol like WPA3,
it's going to be a lot more resistant to attack
and probably an area where you don't want to spend
a lot of your penetration testing efforts,
because WPA3 is considered to be pretty secure.
So, remember, wireless signal exploitation
involves techniques like signal jamming and wardriving.
While signal jamming can disrupt communications,
wardriving is going to be used to help you discover networks
that you can use as part of your penetration tests.
Platforms like WiGLE.net will provide you
with a global view of wireless networks,
while tools like inSSIDer will allow you
to scan and analyze Wi-Fi signals
in real time in your local geographic area.
It's important to understand these tools and techniques,
especially if you're working
as a wireless network penetration tester.