Evaluation of Secure 802.1X Port-Based Network Access Authentication over 802.11 wireless Local Area Networks

Since wireless technology has been used in Local Area Networks (LAN), our networks are easier to build and are more scalable and mobile than legacy structures. While providing these functionalities, Wireless LAN (WLAN)’s have some security vulnerabilities that should be addressed. Failing to examine the security risks of WLAN technology and take the necessary countermeasures may result in unauthorized entry into the legacy local area networks and other attacks. A secure connection to an intranet, which holds critical data and applications, must be the utmost consideration in the effort to protect critical resources. This thesis builds an open-source test-bed for evaluating WLAN security protocols. Moreover, it investigates the suitability of the IEEE 802.1X standard to provide the required security framework to WLANs. This research determines that the IEEE 802.1X could enhance the security level in authentication and privacy by the enabling rekeying process, but would not prevent Denial of Service attacks via unauthenticated management frames.