Using Visualization to Locate Rogue Access

Dino Schweitzer, Wayne Brown, Jeff Boleng
Department of Computer Science, United States Air Force Academy, CO 80840
(719) 333-3945
dino.schweitzer@usafa.af.mil
ABSTRACT
Unauthorized access points on a wireless network, known as rogue access points,
represent significant security vulnerabilities. Commercial and open source tools
are available to detect and locate such devices. As part of a class project, students
in our Computer Security course assisted in the development of a software tool,
called WiVis, that uses interactive visualization to locate rogue access points.
Distributed sensors are “profile mapped” to determine how they receive wireless
signals from the environment around them. Visual displays of the maps as
contour lines are overlaid onto a schematic of the office or lab space. When
sensors detect an access point, contour line intersection visually show the
predicted location of the device. The tool runs on standard platforms and requires
no special hardware.
INTRODUCTION
Rogue access points are a critical security risk to wireless enterprise networks. A rogue
access point is one which has been installed on a secure network without the explicit
permission of the appropriate network management authority. While the intent of the
unauthorized access point may be malicious, it is more commonly installed by legitimate
network users who are trying to extend the flexibility of their office or lab environment. The
growth and availability of inexpensive wireless access points for home use has compounded
this problem.
The reason that a non-malicious rogue access point represents a security risk is that
untrained users are likely to misconfigure them so that they do not conform to the company’s
security policy [6,7]. As such, it represents a vulnerability by opening the network to
malicious wireless attackers. Additionally, rogue access points can interfere with signals
from legitimate Wi-Fi installations. While many corporate IT... [continues]

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