CIST 2602 – Network Security: WLAN Auditing Tools

A collection of vocabulary flashcards based on key concepts from WLAN auditing tools in network security.

Wi-Fi Analyzer

Tools used for scanning, site survey, spectrum analysis, and heat mapping.

Monitor Mode

Allows a station to monitor all traffic received on a wireless channel without having to associate with a WAP first.

Promiscuous Mode

Requires associating with a network first to allow packet sniffing, different from monitor mode.

802.11 Standards

The family of standards which includes a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be, outlining Wi-Fi technology capabilities.

Heat Mapping

A visualization method that assigns colors to data, indicating signal strength and coverage areas.

Penetration Testing (pentesting)

The practice of testing a network's defenses by attempting to exploit its vulnerabilities.

Metasploit

An open-source framework for testing network vulnerabilities and exploiting them.

Nessus

A vulnerability scanner that identifies security flaws like default configurations and weak passwords.

WPA3

The latest Wi-Fi security protocol designed to improve security over WPA2, including stronger encryption.

Hash

A one-way cryptographic function that generates a fixed-length output from an input of any size, making it non-reversible.

Brute-force Attack

A method of hacking by trying every possible password combination until the correct one is found.

Rainbow Table

A precomputed table used to reverse cryptographic hash functions, saving computation time in finding original passwords.

CAPTCHA

A test designed to determine whether the user is human or a bot, often used to prevent automated attacks.

Network Enumerator

Tools that scan networks to discover active hosts and open ports.

Aircrack-ng

A suite of tools for network security auditing, specifically for cracking WEP and WPA/WPA2 keys.

Deauthentication Frame

A management frame used to terminate a Wi-Fi connection, which can be exploited in denial-of-service attacks.

Evil Twin Access Point

A rogue access point that mimics a legitimate one to capture data from unsuspecting users.

Omnidirectional Antenna

An antenna that broadcasts or receives signals equally in all directions.

Directional Antenna

An antenna that has a narrower broadcast beam, providing higher transmit or receive gain in a specific direction.