CTS 287: Not So Hidden SSID

From Clear To Send: Wireless Network Engineering Rowell Dionicio and François Vergès

Does hiding your SSID make it more secure? Will hiding your SSID keep the hackers away? We’ll show you how to reveal a hidden SSID with ease using your laptop.

If the SSID is hidden, how does a device know how to find it?

In this episode, we’ll discuss why hiding your SSID is not a true security method. There are other ways to secure your SSID and we’ll go over some of those options.

Hiding your SSID may create a negative user experience. Since the SSID is not broadcasted, a device needs to probe for the SSID name and wait for an AP to respond. This could delay AP discovery and roaming.

Check out the video to see it in action and take a look at the frame captures as an example.

Resources

Hidden SSID PCAP