Wi-Fi: Securing Your Hotspot from Hotshots

Because free internet shouldn’t mean free access to your network

Let’s be honest – Wi-Fi is the soul of modern life. Without it, smart homes become dumb homes, remote work turns into slightly panicked USB tethering (or worse, a spaghetti junction of network cables snaking through the house), and coffee shops become… well, just shops.

But for all its convenience, Wi-Fi is also one of the most misunderstood and under-secured parts of your environment, both at home and in the office. Most people plug it in, name it something clever, slap on a password, and call it a day. That’s fine – until it’s not.

WPA2? Great. WPA3? Even better. An open guest network called “FBI Surveillance Van”? Absolutely not.

Whether you’re running a business, managing a coworking space, or still relying on the dusty router your ISP gave you in 2015, it’s time to understand what Wi-Fi security actually involves and how to keep your hotspot secure from the hotshots looking to hijack it.

Not Sure What All These Terms Mean? Let’s Break It Down

Wi-Fi Security: Some Helpful Information

It’s more than just a password. Wi-Fi security is a combination of encryption standards, network settings, physical safeguards, and most importantly, a bit of attention. If you’re not managing it, someone else might be.

Here are a few key terms (and what they really mean):

• SSID (Service Set Identifier): This is just the name of your Wi-Fi network – the one you see when you go to connect. Broadcasting it is perfectly fine. In fact, hiding it doesn’t actually make you more secure; it just makes connecting more annoying. Hiding your SSID is like removing your house number to keep burglars away. If someone wants in, they’ll find you anyway.
• WPA2 / WPA3 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) / WEP: These are the current encryption standards for Wi-Fi. WPA2 is widely used and secure unless you’re using a weak password. WPA3 is newer and more secure, but not all devices support it yet. If you’re still using WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), that’s the digital equivalent of locking your door with a rubber band.

PSK vs. Enterprise Mode:

• PSK (Pre-Shared Key): Everyone connects using the same Wi-Fi password. Easy to manage, but not ideal for larger networks.
• Enterprise Mode: Uses individual usernames and passwords, typically with a RADIUS server (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service). It’s more secure because each person has their own credentials, which can be revoked without affecting everyone else.
• MAC Filtering (Media Access Control): Every network device has a unique MAC address – kind of like a digital fingerprint. MAC filtering lets you create a list of allowed devices. Sounds good, right? Problem is, it’s easy to spoof (imitate) a MAC address. So while it can help keep honest people honest, it won’t stop a determined attacker.

Wi-Fi Attacks You Should Know (and Probably Be Slightly Afraid Of)

You might think connecting to Wi-Fi is a harmless act: click, connect, stream cat videos. But for attackers, Wi-Fi is a playground full of low-hanging fruit. Here are the common types of Wi-Fi attacks that aren’t just theoretical – they actually happen. And no, you don’t need to be a hacker in a hoodie to pull them off. It’s pretty easy.

Evil Twin Attack

Yet another coffee shop story, because let’s be real, we all love coffee and browsing the internet at the same time. Barry, our villain of the day, strolls into a café with a laptop instead of a loyalty card. He sets up a Wi-Fi network called “Free_Coffee_WiFi” and within minutes, people are connecting because free internet is basically caffeine for your browser.

Now Barry has them. Sure, most traffic is wrapped up in HTTPS, but Barry isn’t out of tricks. He spins up a fake login portal that asks for an email address and password to “activate” the free Wi-Fi. Half the customers type it in. Some even use the same password they use everywhere else (thanks, Barry). For extra chaos, he can run tools that try SSL stripping (downgrading secure connections) or inject his own warnings and fake “update” pop-ups into browsing sessions. Suddenly, a casual latte check-in turns into a buffet of credentials and stolen sessions.

How it works:

An Evil Twin attack starts when an attacker creates a rogue Wi-Fi network with the same or similar SSID as the real one. Victims connect, thinking it’s legit. Once on, the attacker acts as a man-in-the-middle:

• Hosts a fake captive portal to collect logins, emails, or even payment info
• Attempts SSL stripping to downgrade or intercept supposedly “secure” sessions
• Harvests session cookies and tokens if users ignore browser warnings or fall for injected pop-ups

The trick isn’t just seeing your traffic – it’s manipulating what you see to trick you into giving it away.

How to prevent it:

• Always ask staff for the official Wi-Fi name instead of guessing which “Free Wi-Fi” is real.
• Don’t enter credentials into random captive portals. If the login page looks sketchy, it probably is.
• Use a VPN to keep traffic encrypted, even if Barry is in the middle.
• Pay attention to HTTPS warnings. If your browser yells about certificates, it’s not being dramatic.

Deauthentication Attack

Barry’s back at the café, this time as an invisible bouncer. With a couple of clicks, he starts firing off special “deauth” packets that politely (but firmly) tell devices, “You’re not welcome here – disconnect now.” The devices, which always follow the rules, instantly comply. Suddenly, customers are booted off the café Wi-Fi. While they fumble to reconnect, Barry’s rogue hotspot – conveniently named “Free_Coffee_WiFi” – is waiting. Frustrated and caffeine-deprived, a few users connect without hesitation. Barry grins. Confusion makes people careless.

How it works:

A Deauthentication Attack exploits the fact that Wi-Fi relies on management frames (little control messages) to handle connections. In WPA2, these frames aren’t encrypted, so anyone nearby can forge them. The attacker blasts forged deauth packets, kicking devices offline. Victims often:

• Reconnect automatically, sometimes to the attacker’s fake network if the signal is strong enough
• Or get stuck in a loop until they give up and pick “that other free Wi-Fi”

Attackers also use this trick to force reconnections so they can capture WPA handshakes for password cracking.

How to prevent it:

Use WPA3 where possible. It requires Protected Management Frames (PMF), which stop forged deauth packets from working.

• If you’re stuck on WPA2, enable PMF if your router supports it.
• Stick with trusted networks. Don’t jump on the shiny “free Wi-Fi” that appears right after you’ve been booted.
• Run a VPN so even if you end up on a rogue hotspot, your data is still encrypted.

Handshake Capture and Cracking

Barry’s done with coffee shops. Now he’s upgraded to corporate espionage. He parks outside an office building, laptop in hand, and starts listening to all Wi-Fi networks. Employees inside are happily connected to the company Wi-Fi, but Barry isn’t interested in their emails just yet. Instead, he fires off deauth packets, quietly forcing their laptops and phones to reconnect. Each reconnection triggers the Wi-Fi handshake – a quick cryptographic exchange that proves both sides know the company password. Barry captures those handshakes out of thin air, no access required. Later, in his basement lair (complete with glowing monitors, obviously), he runs the data through hashcat on a GPU rig. If the corporate Wi-Fi password is weak – something like “Company2023” or “Welcome1!” – Barry cracks it and now he can gain access to the Wi-Fi network just like any employee. From there, it’s not just cat memes on the line; it’s file servers, email systems, and sensitive corporate data.

How it works:

Whenever a device connects to a WPA2-PSK or WPA3-PSK network, it performs a 4-way handshake with the access point. Anyone within range can capture that handshake. With the data in hand, attackers attempt offline brute-force or dictionary attacks until the password is guessed. In corporate environments where IT often sets a single shared Wi-Fi password for staff and guests alike, this risk is multiplied: crack it once, and the attacker has a golden key.

How to prevent it:

• Don’t rely on a single shared Wi-Fi password (PSK) for employees. Use Enterprise Mode with individual logins and a RADIUS server so cracking one handshake doesn’t open the entire network.
• Enforce strong passwords (or better, long random passphrases auto-generated by IT). “Welcome1!” is basically a welcome mat for attackers.
• Upgrade to WPA3-Enterprise where possible, which uses stronger handshakes (SAE/Dragonfly) and is far more resistant to cracking.
• Segment your networks. Keep guest Wi-Fi separate from production systems so even if Barry gets lucky, he doesn’t get far.
• Monitor Wi-Fi traffic for signs of repeated deauths or rogue sniffing. If your office suddenly looks like a radio storm, that’s a clue.

WPS: Wi-Fi Protected Setup, or “Welcome, Please Steal”

Barry loves it when companies buy fancy new routers and then leave all the insecure features turned on. He strolls into an office lobby, scans the airwaves, and grins – the corporate Wi-Fi has WPS enabled. That little button on the back of the router, originally designed to make setup easier, is basically a golden ticket for him. With the right tool, Barry doesn’t need to crack a 20-character password. Instead, he just brute-forces the 8-digit WPS PIN – and thanks to the way WPS is designed, he only needs to guess half of it at a time. Within hours, Barry’s laptop spits out the company Wi-Fi key. He now has the same access as any employee, without ever setting foot past reception.

How it works:

Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) was created to make connecting new devices easier: press a button or enter a short PIN instead of typing a full password. The problem? Older WPS implementations have a massive design flaw: the 8-digit PIN can be brute-forced in two chunks, reducing the difficulty from 100 million combinations to just around 11,000 (ish). Tools like Reaver can churn through that in a few hours or less. Once cracked, the attacker retrieves the actual Wi-Fi password (PSK), giving them full access to the network.

How to prevent it:

• Disable WPS permanently. If your router doesn’t let you turn it off, it’s time to shop for a better one.
• Audit corporate Wi-Fi regularly. Many IT admins don’t even realise WPS can still be enabled by default.
• Stick to WPA2/WPA3 with strong passphrases. That way attackers are forced back to handshake cracking, which is far harder if you’ve done passwords right.
• Enterprise Mode beats PSK. In corporate environments, using unique employee logins (with RADIUS) makes this kind of attack irrelevant.

KRACK Attack (Key Reinstallation Attack) – But Why Would I Mention This Old Thing?

Barry’s corporate crime spree continues. This time, he’s not guessing passwords or brute-forcing PINs – he’s targeting the Wi-Fi handshake itself. He sets up near the office, laptop humming, and waits for employees to connect. When a device joins the network, it goes through the familiar 4-way handshake with the access point. Normally, this proves both sides know the password. But Barry interferes mid-conversation, tricking the device into reusing an already-used encryption key. The result? Encrypted traffic that was supposed to be locked up tight is suddenly vulnerable. Barry can start peeling back the layers and seeing sensitive data, especially from unpatched or older devices. In his hands, “secure” Wi-Fi becomes “slightly less secure than shouting passwords across the room.”

How it works:

The KRACK (Key Reinstallation Attack) exploit, disclosed in 2017, abuses a flaw in the WPA2 4-way handshake. By replaying handshake messages, an attacker can trick a device into reinstalling an already-in-use key. That key ends up being reset to an insecure state, allowing the attacker to decrypt or manipulate traffic.

While patches rolled out quickly for laptops, phones, and newer routers, here’s the reality: KRACK (and other legacy vulnerabilities) are still a threat anywhere patch management is sloppy. And it’s not alone:

• EternalBlue (famous for powering WannaCry) was patched in 2017 but is still exploited today in networks running outdated Windows systems.
• BlueKeep (2019 RDP bug) had headlines for weeks, but plenty of unpatched servers are still floating around.
• Even in Wi-Fi, WPS brute-force flaws from over a decade ago still show up in corporate networks where admins never disabled it.

KRACK is a perfect example of how old vulnerabilities live on, not because the exploit is new, but because patching is hard, messy, and often ignored. In a corporate Wi-Fi environment, a single unpatched smart TV, IP camera, or “temporary” router can still be the crack in the armour.

How to prevent it:

• Patch EVERYTHING. Laptops, phones, access points, printers, smart gadgets – if it touches Wi-Fi, it needs updates.
• Replace unsupported hardware. That 2015 router or random IoT camera? It’s not just old; it’s dangerous.
• Use HTTPS and VPNs. Even if a KRACK succeeds, layered encryption limits what an attacker can see. And really… what company in 2025 still runs an internal site over plain HTTP? “Insecure by Design.”
• Move to WPA3 where possible. WPA3’s handshake design (SAE/Dragonfly) isn’t vulnerable to KRACK.
• Run security audits. Pen tests and vulnerability scans will reveal if outdated devices are still clinging to your network.

Some Tools of the Trade (a.k.a. How We Test Wi-Fi Without Getting Arrested)

By now, you’ve seen how Wi-Fi can be hijacked, bent, or just plain bullied into submission. Evil Twins, Pineapples, deauth storms – all fun party tricks if you’re the attacker, not so fun if you’re the network owner. But how do we actually test these scenarios in the real world without becoming the villain of the story? That’s where the toolkit comes in.

Hollywood would have you believe hackers need dark basements, glowing green terminals, and at least three monitors filled with scrolling code. The truth? Most Wi-Fi testing fits in a backpack – or sometimes a pocket. The tools aren’t magic; they’re just very good at showing where your network is weak.

In the hands of a penetration tester, these tools help identify vulnerabilities before attackers do. In the wrong hands, they turn into free passes to your Wi-Fi. The only real difference between the two is paperwork: one comes with a signed engagement letter, the other comes with a court date.

Here are some common tools we use to test Wi-Fi security, what they can do, and why you should care if your password is still “Coffee123.”

aircrack-ng

aircrack-ng is one of the oldest and most trusted Wi-Fi security suites, and it’s still heavily used today. Its primary capabilities include:

• Handshake capture: When a client device connects to a WPA/WPA2 network, it performs a 4-way handshake with the access point. aircrack-ng can capture these handshakes for offline analysis (without ever needing to connect to the Wi-Fi).
• Password cracking: Once a handshake is captured, aircrack-ng can attempt to recover the Wi-Fi passphrase through dictionary attacks, brute-force attacks, or rule-based cracking. Weak passwords fall quickly.
• WEP cracking: While rare these days, WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) can still be found in legacy environments. aircrack-ng can break WEP keys in minutes by exploiting flaws in the RC4 algorithm.
• Monitoring and reconnaissance: It can place wireless adapters into monitor mode, letting testers scan for access points, connected clients, channels, and signal strength.
• Packet injection and replay: By sending crafted packets, aircrack-ng can stimulate more traffic (like ARP requests or forced reconnects) to speed up handshake capture or key recovery.

Put simply: if a Wi-Fi password is weak or outdated, aircrack-ng will find out. If aircrack-ng cracks your password in minutes, that’s not “advanced hacking” – that’s a policy failure waiting to be exploited.

hcxdumptool + hashcat

hcxdumptool and hashcat are often used together as a powerhouse combo for Wi-Fi password auditing. While aircrack-ng focuses on capturing and cracking, this pair takes efficiency and speed to another level.

Its primary capabilities include:

• Handshake and PMKID capture: hcxdumptool can capture traditional WPA/WPA2 4-way handshakes, but it can also grab PMKIDs (Pairwise Master Key Identifiers) directly from access points without needing a client device to reconnect. This makes collection faster and less noisy.
• Offline password cracking: Once the data is captured, hashcat – a GPU-accelerated password cracker – takes over. It supports brute-force, dictionary, hybrid, and rule-based attacks, leveraging the full power of modern graphics cards.
• Support for multiple protocols: While often used for Wi-Fi, hashcat can crack hashes from hundreds of systems (Windows, Linux, databases, etc.), making it a universal password auditing tool.
• Massive wordlist and rules support: Hashcat can mutate dictionary words automatically (for example, turning “Summer” into “Summer2024!”) to mirror real-world password habits, drastically boosting efficiency.
• Benchmarking and optimisation: This combo can test millions (or even billions) of password guesses per second, depending on hardware, revealing quickly whether a Wi-Fi passphrase is truly strong.

Important note on WPA3: WPA3 uses a new handshake method (SAE, also called “Dragonfly”), which is resistant to offline attacks like these. That means capturing a WPA3 handshake or PMKID doesn’t give attackers the same offline cracking opportunity they get with WPA2. However, WPA3 adoption is still patchy, and many networks fall back to WPA2 for compatibility, which keeps hcxdumptool + hashcat very relevant.

hcxdumptool captures the data, and hashcat obliterates weak WPA2 passwords with GPU firepower. If your Wi-Fi passphrase is lazy, this duo will find out.

Kismet

Kismet is a wireless network detector, sniffer, and intrusion detection system. It operates passively, meaning it does not send or inject traffic. Instead, it silently listens to the airwaves and builds a detailed picture of all wireless activity in range.

Its primary capabilities include:

• Network discovery: Identifies access points (including hidden SSIDs), connected clients, channels, and signal strengths. It can also detect Bluetooth, Zigbee, and other wireless protocols
• Rogue access point detection: Flags unauthorised or malicious APs such as Evil Twins or Pineapples that mimic legitimate Wi-Fi networks
• Client tracking: Maps which devices are connected to which access points, making it easier to spot unauthorised devices or strange patterns like IoT gear on a corporate VLAN
• Packet capture and analysis: Collects raw 802.11 frames for detailed inspection, replay, or forensic work
• Visualisation: Provides dashboards and logs that show how the wireless environment evolves over time
• Integration: Works with tools such as Wireshark for deep packet analysis or intrusion detection workflows

Kismet does not break into networks – it reveals them. If aircrack-ng and hashcat are lockpicks, Kismet is the CCTV camera showing you every door and who’s walking through them.

Wi-Fi Pineapple

The Wi-Fi Pineapple is a specialised wireless auditing device created by Hak5. It’s designed for penetration testers but is also popular with attackers due to how easy it makes certain Wi-Fi exploits. It looks like a small router but is purpose-built for running wireless attacks and monitoring connections.

Its primary capabilities include:

• Evil Twin attacks: Creates a fake Wi-Fi access point that mimics a legitimate one, tricking users into connecting and sending their traffic through the Pineapple.
• Rogue access point impersonation: Broadcasts multiple SSIDs simultaneously, luring devices that are configured to auto-connect to “known” networks such as office or home Wi-Fi.
• Man-in-the-middle capabilities: Once users connect, the Pineapple can intercept, modify, or redirect their traffic, allowing for credential theft or phishing page injection.
• Credential harvesting portals: Hosts fake captive portals or login pages to capture usernames, passwords, or payment information.
• Logging and analysis: Collects and organises data from connected clients, making it easy to see who connected and what was attempted.
• Extensibility: Supports additional modules for specific attack types or custom reporting, which makes it flexible for both testing and red team scenarios.

Put simply, the Wi-Fi Pineapple is digital flypaper for devices. If your laptop or phone is too trusting, it will happily connect and hand over its data to the Pineapple without asking questions.

Flipper Zero

Flipper Zero is a portable, open-source, multi-tool for security testing and hardware hacking. It looks like a Tamagotchi-style toy, complete with a cute dolphin on the screen, but underneath the playful design, it’s a serious wireless and hardware testing device.

Its primary capabilities include:

• Radio frequency testing: Transmits and receives signals on sub-GHz frequencies commonly used by garage doors, smart plugs, car key fobs, and other IoT devices
• Infrared emulation: Records and replays IR signals, allowing it to impersonate TV remotes, AC controllers, and other infrared devices
• Bluetooth and NFC testing: Reads, emulates, and manipulates NFC cards, RFID tags, and can interact with Bluetooth devices for testing access control systems
• BadUSB functionality: Acts as a USB device that can impersonate a keyboard, automatically sending commands or payloads to a connected computer
• Wi-Fi experiments: With external modules, Flipper Zero can perform Wi-Fi deauthentication attacks, probe request flooding, and fake access point broadcasting
• Pentesting add-ons: Compatible with third-party firmware and plugins, expanding its capabilities into more advanced or experimental attack surfaces

Flipper Zero is a pocket-sized chaos generator. Cute on the outside, but powerful enough to test (or break) everything from RFID badges to Wi-Fi stability.

Wireshark

Wireshark is the world’s most widely used network protocol analyser. It captures and inspects packets in real time, giving full visibility into what’s moving across a wired or wireless network. With the right wireless adapter, it can capture 802.11 frames directly from Wi-Fi.

Its primary capabilities include:

• Packet capture: Records traffic at a granular level, from management frames to encrypted data packets.
• Deep protocol analysis: Dissects hundreds of protocols, showing exactly how traffic is structured and where anomalies occur.
• Filtering and searching: Allows analysts to zero in on specific hosts, protocols, or even handshake messages.
• Decryption support: With the right keys, Wireshark can decrypt WPA2 traffic for in-depth analysis.
• Forensics: Provides detailed logs and packet-level evidence that can be stored, replayed, or exported for reporting.

Put simply, Wireshark is the microscope for Wi-Fi. It won’t break a network, but it will show you exactly how it’s working (or failing).

Bettercap

Bettercap is a powerful man-in-the-middle and network monitoring framework. It’s built for flexibility and real-time attacks, making it one of the most widely used tools for Wi-Fi red teaming.

Its primary capabilities include:

• Evil Twin and rogue AP attacks: Creates fake access points to impersonate trusted networks
• Traffic manipulation: Performs DNS spoofing, packet injection, and HTTP/HTTPS downgrades
• Credential harvesting: Intercepts login forms, cookies, and session tokens when encryption is weak or misconfigured
• Bluetooth and other protocols: Extends beyond Wi-Fi, supporting BLE and other wireless communication standards
• Modular scripting: Highly customizable, allowing operators to write and execute their own attack scripts

Bettercap is the Swiss Army knife of active Wi-Fi attacks. If you need to sit in the middle of traffic and bend it to your will, this is the tool.

Reaver

Reaver is a specialised tool designed to exploit vulnerabilities in Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS). It automates the brute-forcing of WPS PINs to recover WPA/WPA2 passphrases.

Its primary capabilities include:

• WPS brute-forcing: Exploits the design flaw in WPS that reduces the possible PIN combinations from millions to thousands, making it crackable in hours.
• Password recovery: Once the WPS PIN is guessed, Reaver extracts the actual WPA/WPA2 passphrase from the router.
• Persistent attacks: Can resume interrupted sessions, making it efficient against stubborn targets.
• Testing device resilience: Helps identify if WPS is still enabled on access points that should have it disabled.

Reaver is the reason security professionals say “turn off WPS and never look back.” If WPS is on, this tool will almost certainly get in.

Wrapping Up the Toolkit

From microscopes like Wireshark to chaos generators like Flipper Zero, the world of Wi-Fi testing has no shortage of toys. Some are passive listeners, others are loud troublemakers, and a few (looking at you, Wi-Fi Pineapple) are just plain sneaky. The common thread is this: none of them are “magic hacker boxes.” They simply expose weak passwords, outdated protocols, and bad configurations that were there all along.

The difference between a penetration tester and an attacker is permission. We use these tools to show where your defences are flimsy, so you can fix them before someone else decides to test your network for free.

Put bluntly: Wi-Fi security isn’t about buying a shinier router – it’s about staying patched, using strong credentials, and knowing what’s really happening in the air around you. And if you don’t test it, someone like Barry probably will.

What You Should Actually Do (That Doesn’t Involve Buying a Faraday Cage)

At this point, you might be imagining hackers in hoodies, Pineapples sprouting in your lobby, and Barry parked outside your office with a GPU farm in the boot of his car. Deep breaths. Wi-Fi security isn’t about paranoia – it’s about good hygiene. You don’t need a bunker, just some sensible steps.

Use WPA3 Whenever Possible
WPA3 is the current gold standard for Wi-Fi encryption. It fixes many of the handshake issues WPA2 struggled with and includes protections like Protected Management Frames by default. If your router and devices support WPA3, switch to it. If you’re stuck on WPA2, it’s still fine – just make sure your passphrase is long, random, and not on someone’s wordlist.

One important caveat: some routers and devices advertise WPA3 but quietly fall back to WPA2 for compatibility. That fallback reopens the door to handshake capture and offline cracking attacks. Always check your configuration and confirm WPA3 is being enforced rather than running in mixed WPA2/WPA3 mode.

Retire Default Settings
If your router still logs in with “admin / password”, congratulations – you’re running the friendliest open network on the block. Change the default username and password, rename the SSID, and while you’re in there, disable WPS. A five-minute setup change saves you from hours of incident response later.

Segment Your Networks
Guest networks aren’t just for guests – they’re for keeping untrusted devices away from sensitive ones. Isolate guest Wi-Fi so it can’t see your file server, finance laptops, or that smart printer in accounting. If Steve from Sales brings in malware, it shouldn’t be able to stroll straight into your ERP system.

Patch Everything That Touches Wi-Fi
Routers, laptops, phones, IoT devices – even that “smart” coffee machine. If it talks over Wi-Fi, it needs updates. Unpatched gear is how old attacks like KRACK or WPS brute-forcing stay alive long after they should be dead.

If your router hasn’t seen a firmware update since 2018, it’s not a router – it’s a polite invitation to attackers.

Educate Your Users
Most Wi-Fi attacks succeed not because the attacker is a genius but because the victim doesn’t know what’s happening. Show your staff what a rogue AP looks like, or run a quick deauth demo in a lunch-and-learn. Nothing makes people stop and think like seeing their laptop get kicked off Wi-Fi in real time.

Validate with Penetration Testing
Think your Wi-Fi is bulletproof? Great – now prove it. A penetration test simulates real-world attacks and shows you what would actually break under pressure. It’s far better to learn from a controlled test than from Barry showing up uninvited.

And here’s the important part: getting a penetration test doesn’t mean your boss doesn’t trust you. It’s not about pointing fingers or handing out blame. A pentest is a second set of eyes that helps confirm the work you’ve already done, highlights areas you might not have time to check yourself, and gives you proof that your network is holding strong. If anything, a good pentest often validates that you’re doing a great job.

A pentest is like a fire drill for your network. Nobody runs one because they think the building will burn down tomorrow – they run it to make sure everything works when it really matters.

Wi-Fi Isn’t Magic, It’s Just Radio Signals and Bad Decisions

Wi-Fi feels invisible, effortless, and harmless – until it isn’t. Behind every “connected” device is a protocol someone forgot to update, a password someone reused, or a router someone never bothered to patch. That’s all an attacker needs: one forgotten setting, one lazy password, one “we’ll fix it later.”

The good news is that most Wi-Fi compromises aren’t cutting-edge zero days. They’re everyday mistakes wrapped in convenience. And the better news is that you can fix most of them with a strong password, a firmware update, and a bit of education – before someone else “fixes” it for you from a parked car outside.

Whether you’re securing your home, your office, or your entire organisation, Wi-Fi security isn’t about paranoia – it’s about preparation. The same tools and attacks that Barry uses in our stories are the ones penetration testers use every day, with permission, to prove where things break before it matters.

So don’t wait until your network becomes a case study. Patch your gear, check your passwords, educate your people, and if you’re unsure, get a test done. Because Wi-Fi isn’t magic – it’s just radio waves, encryption, and a lot of very avoidable bad decisions.

And if anyone brings a pineapple to the office, check carefully whether it goes on pizza or plugs into the wall. One is a taste violation, the other is a security incident.

How Edgescan Can Help

Wi-Fi security isn’t a one-time fix – it’s an ongoing process. Edgescan’s penetration testing services include comprehensive wireless security assessments that simulate real-world attacks like the ones Barry uses in this guide.

Our certified security experts (CREST, OSWP-certified, OSCP-certified) test your Wi-Fi infrastructure using the same tools and techniques attackers employ – Evil Twin attacks, handshake capture, rogue AP detection, and more. The difference? We provide you with validated findings, clear remediation guidance, and unlimited retesting to confirm your fixes actually work.

Beyond Wi-Fi, Edgescan’s full-stack approach means we assess how wireless vulnerabilities connect to your broader attack surface – from applications and APIs to network infrastructure. Because attackers don’t stop at your Wi-Fi password; they use it as the entry point to everything else.

Ready to find out if Barry could park outside your office and get in? Start here.