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Techbeat Spring 2004

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Techbeat Spring 2004 National Law Enforcement and Corrections Technology Center Spring 2004 ore and more, when it comes to more efficient, and more cost effective, “There are probably 10 different com- agencies are inundated with these things investigating vehicle crashes, but many departments lack the expertise panies that make measuring devices and don’t necessarily know how to distance measuring tapes and to use them,” Krenning says. To help and 30 different companies that make choose which they want to use.” wheels, hand-drawn sketches, bring law enforcement agencies up to computer-aided drafting (CAD) programs M (See Scene of the Crash, page 10) and ink pens are out and computers and speed on current crash scene technolo- for law enforcement,” Mael says. “Police lasers are in. gies, NLECTC–Rocky Mountain last year “The days of going out and measur- initiated a technology assistance program ing skidmarks and using calculus to titled “Crash Scene Technologies,” which determine speed are over,” says Troy is available to law enforcement Krenning, a program manager at the agencies at no cost. National Institute of Justice’s National Last year, Krenning says, Law Enforcement and Corrections approximately 120 officers from Technology Center (NLECTC)–Rocky Colorado, Montana, and Kansas Mountain in Denver, Colorado. “These took the week-long course, a mix data are now captured in the vehicle’s of classroom presentations and black box.” hands-on exercises designed for According to William Mael, a trans- experienced crash scene investi- n a recent television commercial a portation safety consultant in Fort gators dealing with major acci- stressed-out office worker takes his laptop to a park and uses his Collins, Colorado, the technology for dents. NLECTC–Rocky Mountain wireless access connec- analyzing vehicle crashes had long re- also is offering technology assis- I tion to meet his deadline tance in specific areas, such as mained relatively unchanged. However, as he basks in the warm Mael says, “Starting about 3 to 5 years motorcycle crash analysis and sunshine. Other television ago, much of the technology became advanced reconstruction tech- and radio advertisements computer-related or laser-related, niques. The crash scenes tech- promote the same message: wireless requiring a higher level of training nology course is presented by connections make life more convenient, can pose to conventional systems and net- and exposure for law enforcement Mael along with Bob Rood, a faster, easier. But these commercials works, most are unaware of the unique personnel.” Colorado State Patrol specialist do not mention the hidden dangers risks from the use of wireless access tech- in major collision investigations. that every consumer—and every law nology. Staff at the National Institute of “Onboard vehicle data recorders It presents a broad spectrum enforcement officer—should watch for. Justice’s CyberScience Laboratory (CSL) and other high-tech tools promise to in Rome, New York, know the risks and of technologies, but without Statistics released by the Federal make crash scene investigation faster, want to share this information with law promoting specific products. Bureau of Investigation in 2003 show enforcement agencies across the Nation. that “cybercrime” rates increased for the third straight year. Although most Search the Internet for information people know about financial fraud, on wireless technology and you will be identity theft, and the dangers hackers overwhelmed by the huge amount of (See Hot Off the Wireless, page 2) (Hot Off the Wireless . cont. from page 1) information—some accurate, some not. CSL Bartolomie also says “WarDrivers” (slang for wireless For that reason, CSL staff caution that officers need to staff have sorted through that mass of infor- hackers) drive around and look for wireless networks, be alert for such warning signs as occupied cars in office mation, applied their technical knowledge hoping to find an open access point in a home or office parking lots long after businesses have closed, people and expertise, and produced several primers, and break into it or piggyback off it from laptops in their using laptops in cars, and WarDriving antennas. Accord- an informational DVD, and lists of links to the vehicles. They break in, cause problems, and then drive ing to Bartolomie, potato chip cans are almost the exact most useful sites. (These are available by call- away, leaving no evidence behind. width and length needed to create an antenna to handle ing the laboratory at 888–338–0584.) the frequency range that wireless networks use. All a Isherwood says he and Bartolomie perform test sampl- WarDriver needs to create the antenna is another $5 in As information technology companies ing whenever they attend a conference. “We use the same parts: “If a cop sees someone with a Pringle’s can with tout wireless use, consumers buy laptop equipment and technology that the hackers use,” Isher- wires sticking out of it, ask questions!” he says. computers and set up wireless access points wood says, “and we get numbers that compare to the in their homes and offices without learning nationally reported figures. That is, about 75 percent of “Commercial versions are also fairly cheap,” Isher- about the need for wireless security, says all wireless access points are unencrypted and wide open, wood says. “They’re about 3 inches tall, with a magnetic Robert DeCarlo, Jr., an economic crime and anybody who wants to can gain access to them.” base. It’s hard to distinguish them from a CB or cell phone specialist with CSL. “The vast majority of crimes involving wireless use go undetected and unreported. The victims don’t know they’re vulnerable, and law enforcement doesn’t know the signs to look for. I think we’re on the cusp of an explosion of crime using wireless technology.” Jeffrey Isherwood, a CSL senior engineer, “You might live in says he can recall officers telling him about only one or two cases in which the suspect had wireless access. Ironically, at least half an apartment of the officers he talks with tell him they have wireless access in their homes or pre- cincts. Just like the average consumer, these building with 10 officers are aware of the benefits of wireless use, but not its potential security risks. “Wire- less often is the last thing that police think of apartments and when someone reports identity theft,” Isher- wood says. “They ask victims where they’ve been shopping. If they do check victims’ com- someone might be puters, they don’t think to ask specifically about wireless.” sitting downstairs “It’s not that there’s a specific crime here; it’s a method of perpetrating a crime such as identity theft, and it’s a method that’s collecting all of very hard to trace and prove,” says Joshua Bartolomie, another CSL electronic crime specialist in wireless issues. “For instance, your information... you might live in an apartment building with 10 apartments and someone might be sitting downstairs collecting all of your information. It’s the perfect way to perform identity theft.” How does wireless access work? ◆ Anyone who has the right equipment can detect and break into open access points. ◆ Wireless access technology uses radio communication to allow any computer, not only Using a potato chip can or a coffee can and some copper wire, an individual can build laptops and personal digital assistants (PDAs), to access a network. a directional antenna having a range of hundreds of yards for very little money. Why use wireless? What basic steps can users take to protect themselves? ◆ ◆ Wireless connections allow users to access a network from virtually anywhere: home, Wireless access points do not require users to log in with a user name and password. car, even the beach. They are easy to install and relatively inexpensive to maintain. Therefore, IT departments should integrate WLANs into their existing infrastructure to provide maximum protection.Access points should be on a segregated network How do you obtain wireless access? behind a firewall that requires users to be authenticated before they can access the ◆ Many new laptop computers have built-in wireless adapter cards. These cards also can organization’s entire network. be purchased at almost any electronics or office supply store. Installation is usually ◆ Wireless fidelity (WiFi) equipment comes with wired equivalent privacy (WEP), a simple: As soon as a user plugs them into a computer, the cards will usually connect to built-in encryption algorithm to scramble data.Although the WEP encryption the nearest working access points. algorithm can easily be broken, it provides some protection, particularly if users change from the default settings. What are the security risks? ◆ Adding a Virtual Private Network will encrypt an entire framed session, not just ◆ It is so easy to set up a wireless local area network (WLAN) that employees may set up the data. access points in their offices without telling their information technology department. ◆ In a wireless network, Media Access Control (MAC) addresses, which identify net- Unfortunately, such users may have no knowledge of proper security protocols and work interface cards (each of which has a unique number), can be filtered to provide procedures. access to known users only. ◆ All hardware comes with the manufacturer’s default settings, which often create access points configured for public access; that is, the newly installed access points What is WarDriving? are broadcasting “beacon packets” that identify them as available to anyone in the ◆ WarDriving derives from the term “WarDialing”used in the 1983 movie War Games, area who is listening. Unfortunately, if cards were manufactured with initial security in which a teenager used his computer to dial blocks of numbers in search of a way to settings enabled, they might not install easily.Moreover, many users do not know break into a video game company’s systems.
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