[MLB-WIRELESS] FW: Wireless Networking Frailty

[Steve Wright]

Tony Langdon wrote:

>Hmm, someone has evil DoS ideas.  I don't know how much risk there is in
>practice, but a few things are on the sire of the WLANs.
>
>1.  Power at 2.4 GHz is expensive.  That said, it is possible to hack a
>microwave oven (and probably fry yourself in the process ;) ).
>

Power at 2.4 GHz *is* expensive, yes.  Hacking a microwave oven won't 
work, as the oven transmitter is non-linear - in fact, it's pulsed.

A microwave oven transmitter fed to a dish is an inconcievably dangerous 
proposition, and would make a formidable weapon.
I'm dead serious about this. 1.5KW into 20dB is outright f***ing 
dangerous (150KW EIRP.)  This is the sort of bullshit that kills 15 year 
old kids who try out 'things' like this they hear.


>
>3.  Outdoor installations often use directional antennas up high, so the
>attacker may have to get into the beam (but if they do manage that, bye bye
>WLAN).
>

Irrelevant.  150KW EIRP will utterly destroy any electronic device - 
reciever or otherwise, instantly, period.

FYI, to DoS any radio reciever you only need to transmit an 
adjacent-channel signal that is greater than the dynamic range of the 
reciever.
Considering the very low power levels involved with 802.11b, it would be 
utterly trivial to desense, and therefore DoS the network.  4W and a 
300mm dish should be adequate.

Having said that, DSSS is particularly resilient to interference.



/sw



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