TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter discusses the hardware required for a wireless Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack and demonstrates how to:
Install and configure a MITM attack laptop
Identify and compromise a MITM target wireless access point (AP)
De-authenticate wireless clients from the target AP and have them associate to the MITM AP
Provide a basic example of MITM attack by spoofing a Web application in order to harvest user credentials.
A MITM attack allows attackers to intercept and modify traffic to and from a wireless network without the wireless client knowing that the link has been compromised. The main goal of this attack is to compromise user account credentials during a wireless penetration test. The MITM attack is typically used to capture user account information on Web-based applications, capture passwords sent in clear text, and sniff and crack windows password hashes.
A basic MITM attack connects a wireless client to a client s (victim s) access, and then forwards the traffic to the real (authorized) AP. A typical MITM design consists of the components shown in Figure 9.1.
Wireless penetration tests the security controls of wireless networks (referred to as target wireless access points). To successfully perform a MITM attack, an attacker needs one or more target APs, because many organizations implement hundreds of APs to their employees.
Wireless clients or the victim(s) of the MITM attack, has an initial wireless connection to the target...
