from Hacker News

Deauthentication attack and other ‘wifi hacks’ using an ESP8266 module

by infosecrf on 7/25/17, 11:36 AM with 14 comments

  • by wolframio on 7/25/17, 11:54 AM

    I did a quick search of the forums but didn't find anything related to this. I came across this page on the FCC's site that states deauth attacks and jamming of WiFi are illegal in the US as of January, 2015. They also state the following:

    In addition, we reiterate that Federal law prohibits the operation, marketing, or sale of any type of jamming equipment, including devices that interfere with Wi-Fi, cellular, or public safety communications. Detailed information about the prohibition against jamming is available on the Commission’s website at http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/jammer-enforcement.

    If you read the example they gave about a Marriott hotel deauthenticating users it appears the FCC doesn't know the different between that and jamming a signal. Of course they added that catch-all statement that any device that interferes with WiFi communications is illegal. Page 2 of that document states that no commercial establishment is allowed to block WiFi communication but the next paragraph down has the quote I posted above. It would appear that using the deauth feature of the Pineapple is now illegal, unless if I'm misinterpreting this.

  • by samueloph on 7/25/17, 6:09 PM

    Just a friendly reminder that there's also mdk3[1], which i think is not under active development now but it works.

    Also, i'm the maintainer of mdk3 on Debian and if any mdk3's dev is reading this, please have a look at the patches i applied upon it[2] and consider merging upstream, or putting the code on github.

    There's also a manpage[3].

    [1]https://packages.debian.org/sid/net/mdk3 [2]https://anonscm.debian.org/git/pkg-security/mdk3.git/tree/de... [3]https://anonscm.debian.org/git/pkg-security/mdk3.git/tree/de...

  • by blacksmith_tb on 7/25/17, 5:07 PM

    A while back I remember seeing a less-nuanced ESP8266 wifi jammer, it announces a huge number of APs with random names, making it hard for devices to connect to real networks:

    http://ruralhacker.blogspot.pt/2016/01/esp8266-jamming.html

  • by daveloyall on 7/25/17, 7:17 PM

    I'm in the market for a cheap device that will detect this and a variety of other such attacks.

    Bonus points and bonus money if it can somehow reveal the physical location of the attacking device. Perhaps in the manner of a Geiger counter (some sound or light changes as you approach the attacker).

  • by banterfoil on 7/26/17, 5:46 PM

    Honest question here. Can somebody explain why a device is needed for this? How does this differ from this project? https://github.com/k4m4/kickthemout

  • by ram_rattle on 7/25/17, 5:18 PM

    Again, already known project appearing in front page again