Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Wireless Network Hacking More Prevalent During London's Rush Hours

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 26 Mar 2003 13:43:14 -0500

According to a study by consulting firm KPMG, hacking into wireless networks
in the City of London more likely occurs between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., and
between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. weekdays. There were no hacking attempts over
weekends. An average of 3.4 attempts were made per day, 84 percent of which
were harmless. KPMG set up three wireless network "honeypots" in the City of
London in order to study the prevalence of unauthorized attempts to use wireless
networks.

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Commuters hack wireless networks
Wireless hacking is most likely to occur during the rush hour, a survey has
found.

Jumping on to the increasing number of wireless networks around cities such
as London has become something of a hobby for hackers and those seeking to
gain free access to the internet.

The security arm of consultancy firm KPMG set out to discover just how big a
menace so-called war driving is to London businesses.

It set up three wireless "honeypots" around the City of London in an attempt
to lure hackers.

Not all harmless

Risks include stealing bandwidth which slows the
network down, or actual physical disablement of
systems
Mark Osborne, KPMG

The dummy set-up appeared to be a legitimate corporate wireless network but
actually recorded and analysed the activity of users trying to access it.

It found that the most popular time for war driving was between nine and 10 am and
between five and six pm.

This suggested to investigators that people scan for wireless access points during
their commutes to and from the office, either on foot or in the car.

Virtually no activity was recorded at weekends.

On average 3.4 attempts to access the network were spotted each day. Of these,
84% appeared to be harmless war-driving hobbyists content to pinpoint a
vulnerability and move on.

Only 16% of the probes actually accessed the network, but of these a worrying
three-quarters appeared to have malicious intentions.

Dispelling the myth

Activities included attempts to run computer commands that would damage the
technology as well as attempts to tamper with and access systems.

"The activity recorded is significant, given the proliferation of wireless networks now
being used by companies," said Mark Osborne, Director of Security Services at
KPMG.

"The project dispels the myth that all unauthorised wireless activity is harmless.
Risks include stealing bandwidth which slows the network down, or actual physical
disablement of systems," he added.

War drivers and hackers tend to access wireless networks via laptop computers
running freely available software that can detect such networks.

Often these networks are denoted for others by chalk marks on the building or the
pavement.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/technology/2885339.stm

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