Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 458 Security Essentials However, security measures such as carrier PINs or passcodes can help prevent swap attacks. WLAN A wireless local area network (WLAN), or Wi-Fi, is a wireless networking technology that uses radio waves rather than copper-core or fiber-optic cable and operates on the unlicensed spectrum as defined by IEEE 802.11 standard. Wi-Fi typically runs in infrastructure mode, which requires devices to send data to a central access point before the data moves on to its destination. However, Wi-Fi connections can also connect through ad hoc networking. Ad hoc networking is a type of connection in which two or more devices communicate with each other directly instead of going through a central device such as a router. Devices operating in ad hoc mode cannot connect to another network. Ad hoc networking is typically used in situations where users need to be able to transmit data among themselves without an Internet con- nection or external network. This type of connection, however, is not often recom- mended or necessary. As such, administrators should consider monitoring for these types of connections and enforcing a policy that disallows it. Bluetooth Bluetooth is a wireless connection that enables mobile devices to share data via short-range, ad hoc communication sessions. It is defined by the IEEE 802.15 stan- dard. Devices using Bluetooth must be paired together to provide communication. Bluetooth devices are often able to connect in an ad hoc fashion with minimal security, but device-specific options exist for enabling or limiting Bluetooth commu- nication. Users can implement security measures to create “trust devices” through service- or device-level security, encryption, and use of PINs or passphrases. For example, the popular AirDrop feature on Apple devices allows users to share images, web pages, and other data via Bluetooth. The Bluetooth connection establishes a peer-to-peer wireless connection between the devices, both of which have estab- lished their own firewall, and messages are sent with encryption. Apple users can choose not to receive messages through AirDrop, receive AirDrop messages only from contacts, or receive AirDrop messages from any device in the near vicinity. Near-Field Communication (NFC) Near-field communication (NFC) is a wireless communication standard that facil- itates transmissions using electromagnetic radio fields between devices of a very close proximity. NFC is limited to a radius of approximately four inches and is often used for contactless payment methods such as Apple Pay or Samsung Pay. NFC enables devices to communicate through electromagnetic radio fields as opposed to the radio transmissions used by Wi-Fi. A user must bring the device close to the access point in order to connect using NFC. NFC is relatively secure, especially since devices must be close to transmit, but it can be vulnerable to frequency jam- ming, replay attacks, or man-in-the-middle attacks. For secure deployment, a con- nection must be configured properly and encryption employed. ANT ANT is a proprietary wireless technology that allows devices to communicate with each other wirelessly over short distances. It is designed for low-bit, low-power trans- missions of small packets. It is like the low-energy version of Bluetooth, but Blue- tooth is able to handle larger packets of data. 3.5 3.5 3.5