BK8021SC.RVW   20030404

"802.11 Security", Bruce Potter/Bob Fleck, 2003, 0-596-00290-4,
U$34.95/C$54.95
%A   Bruce Potter
%A   Bob Fleck
%C   103 Morris Street, Suite A, Sebastopol, CA   95472
%D   2003
%G   0-596-00290-4
%I   O'Reilly & Associates, Inc.
%O   U$34.95/C$54.95 800-998-9938 fax: 707-829-0104 info@ora.com
%O  http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596002904/robsladesinterne
  http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596002904/robsladesinte-21
%O   http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0596002904/robsladesin03-20
%P   176 p.
%T   "802.11 Security"

The preface states that this book is aimed at the network engineer,
and the security engineer, or the hobbyist, but it is not an
introductory work.  The reader will need to know Linux to the kernel
configuration level, and TCP/IP networking to the ARP (Address
Resolution Protocol) level.

Part one addresses the basics of 802.11 security.  Chapter one
provides a background, and looks at issues, in wireless
communications, although primarily from a communications, rather than
security, perspective.  There is a review of attacks and risks, in
chapter two, and for once there is a comparison of wired versus
wireless hazards, ranging from the common (interference from portable
phones) to the sophisticated (signal strength attacks related to
diversity antennae).

Part two deals with station, or remote device, security.  Chapter
three examines attacks against machines and networks, and suggests the
use of SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and SSH (Secure SHell). 
Configuration recommendations for the kernel, startup, firewall, and
other aspects of FreeBSD are covered in chapter four.  Chapters five,
six, and seven do the same for Linux, OpenBSD, and Mac OS X,
respectively (with a concentration on the AirPort utilities for the
Mac).  Windows, in chapter eight, reviews basic workstation items
only, with limited advice and direction.

Part three looks at access port security, and the setup of access
points under Linux, FreeBSD, and OpenBSD are all contained in chapter
nine.

Gateway security is the topic of part four, with chapter ten looking
at gateways and firewalls, while the use of the three UNIX variants as
gateways is discussed in chapters eleven, twelve, and thirteen. 
Authentication and encryption, mostly with IPSec, is reviewed in
chapter fourteen.  A rather vague closing is given in fifteen.

As noted, this is not a book for beginners.  Presumably readers should
already know the most common dangers of wireless LANs, such as
allowing default access passwords to remain active, and broadcasting
the station set identifier.  WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is
dismissed as irrelevant: since it is deeply flawed, one can assume
that the concentration on technologies such as IPSec and station
security is of greater use than suggesting minor improvements in the
use of WEP keys and initialization vectors.  However, it is a bit of a
pity that the authors took this route.  With the addition of possibly
an extra fifty pages this could have been an excellent reference for
all wireless LAN administrators.

copyright Robert M. Slade, 2003   BK8021SC.RVW   20030404