Packet sniffing can be a controversial subject. Discuss any issues related to ethics that might arise when an organization monitors the electronic activity of its employees.
One of the issues that relate to packet sniffing as a controversial subject for debate is property. In the property ethical issue, it is ideal to determine who owns the information and controls access to information system in order to address the implementation and effects of packet sniffing within the context of an organization. Packet sniffing provides an opportunity for an employer to control intellectual property in relation to what their employees are working on at the personal level. An example of this ethical issue is the ability of an organization to take control of the development of software in case their employees mentions it in the e-mail or any other relevant chat modes. This is a representation of invasion to creativity and innovation of employees by their respective organizations. The other ethical issue is an invasion of the right to privacy belonging to their employees. The development of interpersonal relationships that might exist within the context of an organization could put the business entity in a compromising situation.
This is in relation to close monitoring through packet sniffing technology. The organization would face ethical issue in relation to firing or maintaining the services of the individuals engaging in the interpersonal communication. Employees have the right to privacy that should be under critical observance by the organization. The other ethical issue is the development of psychological profile of the employees under the influence of packet sniffing. Employees would develop new communication methods, groups, and contents out of fear of being under critical monitoring by the organization. Another ethical issue is the accessibility of the information that is under the right of an organization. Packet sniffing should determine on the content of information that the organization has the right and ability to access in order to maintain elements of privacy of the personal information.
You looked at packets captured during a web page request. What might this be useful for?
This is useful or beneficial in the debugging of communication among clients and the server belonging to an individual or organization. In order to debug communication between a client and server, it is ideal to implement the information from the packets captured during a web page request. Organization has the ability to reduce or eliminate bugs from its networking system through effective and efficient implementation of information from the packets captured during the web page request. This tends to eliminate the essence of hackers and attackers. These malicious hackers might operate as external and internal intruders. This enhances the security of the networking system belonging to individual and relevant organizations.
The information would also enable the organization to make an accurate prediction in relation to security threats. The organization would also take timely measures in dealing with security threats. Captured packets also provide accurate information with reference to the use of network by principal stakeholders such as employees. This is because packet sniffing provides accurate monitoring process in the context of networker users. Malicious hackers also apply this information to obtain sensitive information and passwords thus compromising the network system of an organization. An organization might decide to apply this information in relation to securing the network systems thus minimizing elements of attackers on the server.
Most computers are connected together with switches (rather than hubs). How does this affect the packet capturing process?
Numerous reasons prompt organizations to replace aging hubs with new switches in attempts to update the network infrastructures. The main argument that relates to the adoption of switches is the increase in security levels thus initiating and motivating the organizational move to the switched environment. This argument displays elements of flaws in its adoption and implementation towards enhancing the security of the networking system. Application of packet sniffing is active and pertinent. This is because any individual possessing a laptop under the influence of free, accessible software would have the capacity to monitor communication existing among the computers within the switched network or environment. Packet sniffing tools in the hands of malicious hackers could have the systems of the organization under the switched environment.
The hackers have the capacity to glean passwords and relative security information from a LAN. In the context of switched environment, it is more challenging to eavesdrop within the network traffic. This relates to the ability of switches in sending vital information to network traffic to the destination or the intended machine. This offers ample security to the network system of an organization thus its adoption in the place of the traditional hubs. However, the modern technology enables hackers to apply advanced techniques in efforts to surpass the functionality of the switches. Numerous tools can operate packet sniffing with switched network thus enhancing the capability of filtering in traffic in the identification of sensitive information. This offers critical protection and effective application of packet sniffing under switched environments in comparison to the traditional hubs. Hubs will transmit all the packets to all the computers. Switches try to send each packet to the respective computers.
Discuss how sniffing packets from wireless networks might differ from wired networks. Use the Internet to search for wireless packet sniffers. Where might someone go to sniff wireless packets and possibly obtain some “juicy” information?
Packet sniffing relates more to wired networks than the wireless networking systems. Sniffing implies the adoption and implementation of techniques to offer effective monitoring of the network system to ensure healthy aspect of its content. It proves to be easier to sniff packets in wireless networking systems than in the wired networks. In the case of wired networking system, the attacker or hacker must identify an effective means to install sniffer software. The installation occurs in relation to one or more hosts within the subnets under critical target from the perspective of the attackers and hackers.
This process would initiate compromising the security system in the wired networking system. The attacker needs to execute effective running of the sniffing software in relation to the machine (victim) whose traffic develops interest. He or she would also need to run the software on unique hosts similar to the subnet of the victim machine in order to initiate sniffing of the packets in wired networking systems. This makes it difficult to initiate or install sniffer software in the wired networking system. Sniffing packets in wireless networking system requires the hacker or attacker to crack into the passwords (WEP and WPA) to facilitate thus differentiating it from the wired networking systems.
Examples of wireless packet sniffers include RFGrabber: The Wireless Packet Sniffer and The Airopeek Analyzer. Airopeek Analyzer represents a real-time 802.11 a/b/g WLAN analyzer that executes effective and efficient website surveys, audits of security systems, and protocol identification thus supplementing the troubleshooting functionality. This analyzer operates in combination with wireless adaptor to packet sniff from the air. RFG Grabber operates as listen only sniffing software that is Ethernet connected with the wireless adapter. Wireless networking systems are gaining momentum in the modern technological field thus applicable in most cases. This indicates that an individual can visit an organization to obtain juicy information through packet sniffing.
