Method and system for monitoring a selected region of an airspace associated with local area networks of computing devices

• Main Authors: JAI RAWAT, DAVID C. KING, HEMANT CHASKAR, PRAVIN BHAGWAT
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 01.11.2007
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE; ELECTRICITY; JAMMING OF COMMUNICATION; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; SECRET COMMUNICATION; TESTING; TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHICCOMMUNICATION; WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

Methods for monitoring for unauthorised wireless access to computer networks are described. One method includes monitoring wireless communications within a selected geographic region using one or more sniffer devices to at least detect an active wireless access point device that transmits wireless signals within the selected geographic region, the one or more sniffer devices being positioned within the selected geographic region. One or more marker packets are transferred into the computer network, the one or more marker packets being adapted to be transferred to wireless medium from the computer network through the one or more wireless access point devices which are connected to the computer network. The marker packet(s) have a predetermined format and at least a subset of the one or more sniffer devices is configured to be able to identify at least a portion of the predetermined format. The transferring step includes actively transferring at least for a process of detection of unauthorized wireless access to the computer network. The method further includes processing using at least one of the at least the subset of the one or more sniffer devices at least a portion of the monitored wireless communications within the selected geographic region. The processing is directed to at least identifying at least one of the one or more marker packets being transferred from the computer network to the wireless medium within the selected geographic region through the active wireless access point device, and includes identifying the at least the portion of the predetermined format within one or more packets included in the at least the portion of the monitored wireless communications. The method further includes determining that the active wireless access point device provides unauthorised wireless access to the computer network based at least upon the at least one of the one or more marker packets being identified as transferred from the computer network to the wireless medium within the selected geographic region through the active wireless access point device.