Hotspots or Drive-by Hacking

A location from which wireless service is accessible. Although a number of service providers make wireless Internet access legal in such places as airline lounges, Internet cafes, and hotel lobbies, “drive-by hacking” occurs when crackers try to spoof mobile device credentials as they are seated in a parked car or in some building at a “safe” distance from some targeted company.

In a move to curb drive-by hacking, in April 2003, Interlink Networks (a producer of wireless networks access control and security software) and Bluesoft (a producer of wireless security positioning platforms) announced a partnership. Together, they said, they would provide value-added security software for Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) networks.

Although Interlink Networks’ software secures access to both private and public wireless LAN networks (based on the standards-based 802.1x security solution that is also compliant with the Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA specifications), Bluesoft’s system not only locates the mobile device but also has authentication information. This location-based authentication software adds a layer of wireless security by permitting companies to make sure that only authenticated users in a designated building, or on, say, a designated university campus would be allowed access to the network. Also, location-based policy management would be able to allow for differentiated services in different parts of the building or on different parts of the campus. For example, Internet access could be provided in the building’s lobby but denied in the remaining building areas.

See Also: Crackers; Internet; Wardriving and Warwalking; Wireless.