DoS: RF Jamming Attack

RF Jamming attack

This alarm is raised when WiFi Manager detects RF interference and jamming which could result in the disruption of the WLAN Service or damage of the hardware.

What happens during RF Jamming ?

When a DoS attack occurs in a WLAN, the systems do not support running of any applications. Administrators face a lot of issues raised by the users and may end up troubleshooting the root cause for problems like slow performance, etc.

• Disturbances in the WLAN: When there are many users of the RF in a WLAN, or appliances like microwave-ovens, phones, bluetooth devices etc, operating in the unlicensed 2.4 or 5.2 GHz bands, there is adequate cause for noise and signal interferences and congestion. The resultant may be total disruption of WLAN services.
• Break down the Electronics: Some RF Jamming tools may use very high energy, sufficient to even break down the electronics in the AP and make it malfunction totally.

How do attackers launch the RF Jamming attacks?
The attackers may use physical devices like antennas which can be modulated from a distance to cause RF Jamming . Any attacker using a PDA or a laptop equipped with aWLAN card can launch such an attack on SOHO and Enterprise WLANs using the vulnerabilities in the 802.11 ,802.11b or 802.11g protocols.

How does WiFi Manager detect the RF interferences?

WiFi Manager closely monitors the RF environment with the help of sensors.It generates detailed reports about signal quality, signal-noise ratio and channel usage. It shows the degraded signal-noise ratio and raises the suitable alarms when it exceeds the threshold limits by notifying the administrator via email or sms as opted by him/her.

What should administrators do to prevent RF Jamming?

The administrator has to either physically remove the other devices causing the RF intereference or relocate the AP. Switching to 802.11a protocols, with availabiltiy of more channels may be a possible solution to prevent occurence of such attacks. To minimise the impact of RF Jamming attack, the administrators should use a network management solution capable of alerting them of degraded signal-noise ratio or the increased noise levels in the airwave.