And that’s just the manual method that involves doing each step by hand - never mind the automated tools or shell scripts that can make this faster. This entire process could easily take less than 30 seconds. An attacker with a toolset like Kali Linux can use Wireshark to eavesdrop on a packet, run a quick command to change their MAC address, use aireplay-ng to send deassociation packets to that client, and then connect in its place. You may be thinking that this will not be possible because the device is already connected, but a “deauth” or “deassoc” attack that forcibly disconnects a device from a Wi-Fi network will allow an attacker to reconnect in its place. RELATED: How an Attacker Could Crack Your Wireless Network SecurityĪll an attacker has to do is monitor the Wi-Fi traffic for a second or two, examine a packet to find the MAC address of an allowed device, change their device’s MAC address to that allowed MAC address, and connect in that device’s place. They’re sent over the air with each packet going to and from the device, as the MAC address is used to ensure each packet gets to the right device. But MAC addresses can be easily spoofed in many operating systems, so any device could pretend to have one of those allowed, unique MAC addresses. MAC Address Filtering Provides No Security Your router probably allows you to configure a list of allowed MAC addresses in its web interface, allowing you to choose which devices can connect to your network. With MAC address filtering a router will first compare a device’s MAC address against an approved list of MAC addresses and only allow a device onto the Wi-Fi network if its MAC address has been specifically approved. Normally, a router allows any device to connect - as long as it knows the appropriate passphrase. RELATED: Don't Have a False Sense of Security: 5 Insecure Ways to Secure Your Wi-FiĮach device you own comes with a unique media access control address (MAC address) that identifies it on a network.

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