Researchers Find Way To Measure Effect Of Wi-Fi Attacks

Researchers from North Carolina State University (NC State) have developed a way to measure how badly a Wi-Fi network would be disrupted by different types of attacks – a valuable tool for developing new security technologies.

“This information can be used to help us design more effective security systems, because it tells us which attacks – and which circumstances – are most harmful to Wi-Fi systems,” says Dr. Wenye Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State and co-author of a paper describing the research.

Wi-Fi networks, which allow computer users to access the Internet via radio signals, are commonplace – found everywhere from offices to coffee shops. And, increasingly, Wi-Fi networks are important channels for business communication. As a result, attacks that jam Wi-Fi networks, blocking user access, are not only inconvenient but have significant economic consequences.

Wang and her team examined two generic Wi-Fi attack models. One model represented persistent attacks, where the attack continues non-stop until it can be identified and disabled. The second model represented an intermittent attack, which blocks access on a periodic basis, making it harder to identify and stop. The researchers compared how these attack strategies performed under varying conditions, such as with different numbers of users.

After assessing the performance of the models, the researchers created a metric called an “order gain” to measure the impact of the attack strategies in various scenarios. Order gain compares the probability of an attacker having access to the Wi-Fi network to the probability of a legitimate user having access to the network. For example, if an attacker has an 80 percent chance of accessing the network, and other users have the other 20 percent, the order gain would be 4 – because the attackers odds of having access are 4 to 1.

This metric is important because a Wi-Fi network can only serve once computer at a time, and normally functions by rapidly cycling through multiple requests. Attacks work by giving the attacker greater access to the network, which effectively blocks other users.

“If we want to design effective countermeasures,” Wang says, “we have to target the attacks that can cause the most disruption. It’s impossible to prevent every conceivable attack.” So, one suggestion the researchers have is for countermeasures to focus on continuous attacks that target networks with large numbers of users – because that scenario has the largest order gain. Beyond that, network security professionals can use the new approach to assess a complicated range of potential impacts that vary according to type of attack and number of users.

The paper, “Modeling and Evaluation of Backoff Misbehaving Nodes in CSMA/CA-based Wireless Networks,” is forthcoming from IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing and was co-authored by NC State Ph.D. student Zhuo Lu and Dr. Cliff Wang of the U.S. Army Research Office (ARO). The research was funded by the National Science Foundation and ARO.

Featured

  • Security Today Announces The Govies Government Security Award Winners for 2025

    Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 winners in The Govies Government Security Awards. The awards honor outstanding government security products in a variety of categories. Read Now

  • Survey: 60 Percent of Organizations Using AI in IT Infrastructure

    Netwrix, a cybersecurity provider focused on data and identity threats, today announced the release of its annual global 2025 Cybersecurity Trends Report based on a global survey of 2,150 IT and security professionals from 121 countries. It reveals that 60% of organizations are already using artificial intelligence (AI) in their IT infrastructure and 30% are considering implementing AI. Read Now

  • New Research Reveals Global Video Surveillance Industry Perspectives on AI

    Axis Communications, the global industry leader in video surveillance, has released its latest research report, ‘The State of AI in Video Surveillance,’ which explores global industry perspectives on the use of AI in the security industry and beyond. The report reveals current attitudes on AI technologies thanks to in-depth interviews with AI experts from Axis’ global network and a comprehensive survey of more than 5,800 respondents, including distributors, channel partners, and end customers across 68 countries. The resulting insights cover AI integration and the opportunities and challenges that exist with regard to security, safety, business intelligence, and operational efficiency. Read Now

  • SIA Urges Tariff Relief for Security Industry Products

    Today, the Security Industry Association has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requesting relief from tariffs for security industry products and asking that the Trump administration formulate a process that allows companies to apply for product-specific exemptions. The security industry is an important segment of the U.S. economy, contributing over $430 billion in total economic impact and supporting over 2.1 million jobs. Read Now

  • Report Shows Cybercriminals Continue Pivot to Stealthier Tactics

    IBM recently released the 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index highlighting that cybercriminals continued to pivot to stealthier tactics, with lower-profile credential theft spiking, while ransomware attacks on enterprises declined. IBM X-Force observed an 84% increase in emails delivering infostealers in 2024 compared to the prior year, a method threat actors relied heavily on to scale identity attacks. Read Now

New Products

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • Hanwha QNO-7012R

    Hanwha QNO-7012R

    The Q Series cameras are equipped with an Open Platform chipset for easy and seamless integration with third-party systems and solutions, and analog video output (CVBS) support for easy camera positioning during installation. A suite of on-board intelligent video analytics covers tampering, directional/virtual line detection, defocus detection, enter/exit, and motion detection.