Wireless Local Area Network Security Enhancement through Penetration Testing

Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) have become very popular due to their high data rates, cost effectiveness, flexibility and ease of use. On the other hand, they are facing major security threats due to the broadcast nature of the wireless media. WLANs with infrastructure mode are deployed as an extension to wired LANs, so it is necessary to be secured to avoid being a back door to the wired network. This paper presents a security solution for WLANs to achieve the standard network security requirements while combines the stability and low cost. The proposed solution works in two levels, namely, the frame security and the Radio Frequency (RF) security. It differs from the other solutions because it works in the two WLAN security levels. WPA/WPA2 encryption, AES, and strong 802.1x authentication are integrated into the solution to provide a high level of security. This paper has been done with real hardware in a lab environment. Finally, the strength of the proposed solution is examined with different penetration tests.