rogue wireless device (and associated concepts)

rogue wireless device

A wireless networking term used to describe unauthorized devices connected to the network that poses a significant risk to the organization. Rogue wireless devices can be broken down into two categories: access point (AP) based threats (rogue access points) and computer based threats (rogue peers).


AP – Access Point

Short for Access Point, a hardware device or a computer’s software that acts as a communication hub for users of a wireless device to connect to a wired LAN. APs are important for providing heightened wireless security and for extending the physical range of service a wireless user has access to.


rogue access point

A rogue access point, also called rogue AP, is any Wi-Fi access point that is installed on a network but is not authorized for operation on that network, and is not under the management of  the network administrator. Rogue access points often do not conform to wireless LAN (WLAN) security policies, and additionally can allow anyone with a Wi-Fi device to connect to your network.


rogue peer

A rogue peer is an end-user computer-usually a laptop-that has both bridging and wireless enabled. Since the basic functions of an access point are bridging and wireless access, any laptop that has these capabilities presents a similar vulnerability or worse. The vulnerability with a rogue peer can be much more severe than with a rogue AP, because laptops provide almost no security features to prevent connections from other unauthorized users


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