Wireless Risk Assessment

[Davenlara]

Hi all.recently I've become part of a team the is required to perform Risk Assessments on projects including wireless infrastructure. I understand we need to include things like administrative security on the controllers and access points, authentication of clients, type of data over the air, interference with other existing channels, leakage etc...

What I'm looking for is recommendations of books or other resources that might be soup to nuts (all inclusive).An example of something that I wonder about is different levels of controllers, what makes some more secure than others or rated as industrial? 

Maybe even just things you've run into that would be good to keep in mind. Thanks, Dave.

[sdurbin]

Hi Dave,

Sorry, I do not have any references on the subject. I'm sure others will be able to assist.

However, I'd recommend balancing ease of use with secure (preferably multiple) authentication factors, context-based access control, and sand-boxing guests to a DMZ VLAN when securing WiFi networks in Enterprise environments.

Regards,

Stephen

[JoePete]

It might help to offer clarification on you use of the term "controllers." I am assuming you mean things like industrial controllers connected wirelessly. In that case, NIST special pub 800-82 might help:

http://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-82r2.pdf

That said, I think looking just at wireless connectivity may be too narrow a scope. Put another way, what we often see as wireless vulnerabilities really are network or even system ones. It's just that it is easier for us to envision wireless being compromised vs, say, someone getting into our wired network. It's like the bank concluding it has a doorway problem because anyone who walks through the "employee" doorway is permitted access to the vault. It's not how they get in; it is the permissiveness of what happens once they are in.

[Davenlara]

I was referring to wireless access point controllers to manage SSID, WAP profiles, encryption and authentication. I did end up searching the NISP SP's and found 800-97, which seems to have what I'm looking for. I want to be sure to require up to date wireless protocols and best practice configurations. I completely agree that wireless is a subset of the assessment but this is the least familiar part for me. Of course we're including other hardware, OS, AV mechanisms, patching, remote support, local policies, encryption in flight and at rest, physical access and other fun stuff.

Thanks for your input.

[Davenlara]

Thanks Stephen, in this case the wifi network is strictly for clinical devices (X-Ray). I just want to ensure it stays that way