Wireless Technology

by: Sara Ahmed

Wireless technology definition

A technology, such as cell phones, that uses radio waves to transmit and receive data. It is used increasingly for data transmission

 .

New Wireless Technologies for Today's Businesses

WiGig: High-Speed Wireless

Known by the technical spec 802.11ad, this new Wi-Fi protocol due later this year will connect at theoretical speeds of 10Gbps using the 60GHz radio band.

Today, the latest 802.11ac spec connects at up to 1Gbps using the 40GHz radio band. In a corporate setting, one potential early application is monitoring a building using extremely high-definition video cameras that send their signal over Wi-Fi instead of a wired connection, according to Nick Ilyadis, CTO at wireless chipmaker Broadcom

Bluetooth Smart: Same Tech, Less Energy

This short-range wireless tech has a distinct advantage over existing Bluetooth: While both connect over a similar 30-foot range, Bluetooth Smart isn't constantly sending out a signal and uses less power. According to the official Bluetooth SIG working group, businesses will start using the new Bluetooth signal this year and into next for authentication (using gadgets such as the Bionym Nymi, which verifies users based on their heartbeat) and collaboration (by syncing devices and sharing documents).

Cisco Intelligent Proximity: Wireless Content Sharing

Here's an unusual — and highly targeted — wireless tech that will soon be available in beta. For those who participate in a high-definition videoconference using Cisco Systems telepresence gear, your iOS or Android device can connect automatically when you walk into the room. You can then use Cisco Intelligent Proximity for Content Sharing to grab presentations and other documents you need during the HD video meeting. Conferencing systems such as the Cisco MX200 and MX300 will support the service. The service uses standard Wi-Fi but senses your proximity to the meeting and authenticates your access automatically.

 .

 

 

Cryptography attacks

 by:- sara ahmed

Passive Attacks

The main goal of a passive attack is to obtain unauthorized access to the information. For example, actions such as intercepting and eavesdropping on the communication channel can be regarded as passive attack.

Active Attacks

An active attack involves changing the information in some way by conducting some process on the information. For example,

• Modifying the information in an unauthorized manner.
• Initiating unintended or unauthorized transmission of information.
• Alteration of authentication data such as originator name or timestamp associated with information
• Unauthorized deletion of data.
• Denial of access to information for legitimate users (denial of service).
  
  
  

  Cryptographic Attacks

  The basic intention of an attacker is to break a cryptosystem and to find the plaintext from the ciphertext. To obtain the plaintext, the attacker only needs to find out the secret decryption key, as the algorithm is already in public domain.
  Hence, he applies maximum effort towards finding out the secret key used in the cryptosystem. Once the attacker is able to determine the key, the attacked system is considered as broken or compromised.
  

A Brief History of Cryptography

 by:-Sara ahmed

cryptography

krɪpˈtɒɡrəfi/

noun

noun: cryptography

1. The art of writing or solving code.

 

The earliest form of cryptography was the simple writing of a message, as most people could not read (New World, 2007). In fact, the very word cryptography comes from the Greek words kryptos and graphein, which mean hidden and writing, respectively (Pawlan, 1998).

The need to conceal messages has been with us since we moved out of caves, started living in groups and decided to take this civilization idea seriously. As soon as there were different groups or tribes, the idea that we had to work against each other surfaced and was proliferated, along with rank violence, secrecy, and crowd manipulation. The earliest forms of cryptography were found in the cradle of civilization, which comes as no surprise, including the regions currently encompassed by Egypt, Greece and Rome.

The Greek’s idea was to wrap a tape around a stick, and then write the message on the wound tape. When the tape was unwound, the writing would be meaningless. The receiver of the message would of course have a stick of the same diameter and use it to decipher the message. The Roman method of cryptography was known as the Caesar Shift Cipher. It utilized the idea of shifting letters by an agreed upon number (three was a common historical choice), and thus writing the message using the letter-shift.

Brute Force Attack

Brute Force Attack 

Brute force (also known as brute force cracking) is a trial and error method used by application programs to decode encrypted data such as passwords or Data Encryption Standard (DES) keys, through exhaustive effort (using brute force) rather than employing intellectual strategies. Just as a criminal might break into, or "crack" a safe by trying many possible combinations, a brute force cracking application proceeds through all possible combinations of legal characters in sequence. Brute force is considered to be an infallible, although time-consuming, approach. 

Crackers are sometimes used in an organization to test network security, although their more common use is for malicious attacks. Some variations, such as L0phtcrack from L0pht Heavy Industries, start by making assumptions, based on knowledge of common or organization-centered practices and then apply brute force to crack the rest of the data. L0phtcrack uses brute force to crack Windows NT passwords from a workstation. PC Magazine reported that a system administrator who used the program from a Windows 95 terminal with no administrative privileges, was able to uncover 85 percent of office passwords within twenty minutes.

Resource: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/brute-force-cracking

Replay Attack

Replay Attack

A replay attack (also known as playback attack) is a form of network attack in which a valid data transmission is maliciously or fraudulently repeated or delayed. This is carried out either by the originator or by an adversary who intercepts the data and retransmits it, possibly as part of a masquerade attack by IP packet substitution.

Suppose Alice wants to prove her identity to Bob. Bob requests her password as proof of identity, which Alice dutifully provides (possibly after some transformation like a hash function); meanwhile, Darth is eavesdropping on the conversation and keeps the password (or the hash). After the interchange is over, Darth (posing as Alice) connects to Bob; when asked for a proof of identity, Darth sends Alice's password (or hash) read from the last session, which Bob accepts thus granting access to Darth.

Resource

Cryptography

Cryptography is an indispensable tool for protecting information in computer systems. In this course you will learn the inner workings of cryptographic systems and how to correctly use them in real-world applications. The course begins with a detailed discussion of how two parties who have a shared secret key can communicate securely when a powerful adversary eavesdrops and tampers with traffic. We will examine many deployed protocols and analyze mistakes in existing systems. The second half of the course discusses public-key techniques that let two parties generate a shared secret key. Throughout the course participants will be exposed to many exciting open problems in the field and work on fun (optional) programming projects. In a second course (Crypto II) we will cover more advanced cryptographic tasks such as zero-knowledge, privacy mechanisms, and other forms of encryption.

Resource: https://www.coursera.org/learn/crypto

Wireless Technology

Wireless is a term used to describe telecommunications in which electromagnetic waves (rather than some form of wire) carry the signal over part or all of the communication path. Some monitoring devices, such as intrusion alarms, employ acoustic waves at frequencies above the range of human hearing; these are also sometimes classified as wireless.

The first wireless transmitters went on the air in the early 20th century using radiotelegraphy (Morse code). Later, as modulation made it possible to transmit voices and music via wireless, the medium came to be called "radio." With the advent of television, fax, data communication, and the effective use of a larger portion of the spectrum, the term "wireless" has been resurrected.

Common examples of wireless equipment in use today include:

• Cellular phones and pagers -- provide connectivity for portable and mobile applications, both personal and business
• Global Positioning System (GPS) -- allows drivers of cars and trucks, captains of boats and ships, and pilots of aircraft to ascertain their location anywhere on earth
• Cordless computer peripherals -- the cordless mouse is a common example; keyboards and printers can also be linked to a computer via wireless
• Cordless telephone sets -- these are limited-range devices, not to be confused with cell phones
• Home-entertainment-system control boxes -- the VCR control and the TV channel control are the most common examples; some hi-fi sound systems and FM broadcast receivers also use this technology
  
  
  
  Resource:
  
  http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/wireless