What is Wardriving?
Wardriving refers to the practice of searching for wireless networks while driving by simply using a laptop or smartphone. It is a form of access point mapping with several variants depending on the transportation mode, such as warwalking, warbiking, & wartraining. At any rate, wardriving and its siblings allow those doing it to see all visible wifi access points in a designated area.
How to Recognize This Threat: The act of wardriving is not technically illegal and doesn’t necessarily lead to individual breaches – as some do so passively. However, some do use the drive-by visibility of a wifi network outside of its designated zone to either steal internet access or worse, exploit a network. You may recognize it by sight if you see someone driving slowly outside your home or business equipped with a special antenna. Or, with the right visibility into your wireless network, you – or your network admins – may spot someone who doesn’t belong.
How to Prevent This Threat: Network visibility is a key starting point, but fully preventing someone from stealing access or data requires a strong security setup. This includes access points with built-in security. Ensure your protection meets the latest standard – WPA2 – and is turned on. Consider an upgrade if your setup has the legacy WEP encryption, which is far less secure. Also ensure your overall network has the added protection of a next generation firewall to prevent access to your broader network and data.