Press Release

DULLES, Va., October 15, 2001—Cigital, Inc. the software risk management (SRM) solution provider that helps companies protect themselves from the business risks of software failure, today announced the discovery of a means by which attackers can penetrate, monitor, and manipulate data on traditional wired networks by accessing the system through its wireless sub-network. The attacks can be carried out using off-the-shelf roaming wireless devices such as a wireless laptop computer against standard wireless installations. This vulnerability is the latest in a series of serious wireless security problems, and clearly demonstrates how wireless security risks can impact the security of the standard networks they are attached to.

Using a classic "man-in-the-middle" technique to monitor, intercept and manipulate traffic, the class of attacks discovered by Cigital intercedes between two wired hosts behind a corporate firewall, between a wired host and a wireless host, and between two wireless clients. Roaming wireless clients attached to different access points on the same network can also be compromised. This type of "eavesdropping and manipulation" allows unauthorized and potentially untraceable access to existing business applications and can result in the misuse of confidential and/or private information.

"This discovery shows that wireless risks go far beyond wireless traffic and reach directly into the heart of an information system," states Robert Fleck, the Cigital consultant who discovered the vulnerability. "While previous demonstrations have underscored the lack of security associated with WEP encryption methods, our discovery is based on an adaptation of a well-understood network attack known as ARP cache poisoning. This emphasizes the imperative of investigating and analyzing old risks in light of new technologies."

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache poisoning is a known risk that has been previously managed by placing defenses around the perimeter of an organization's wired network. The ability to access a network via a wireless LAN elicits a new and dangerous dimension to the ARP vulnerability as standard defenses no longer work.

Massachusetts-based market research firm, IDC, estimates that wireless LAN services (i.e., consulting, integration and product support) expenditures will grow at a compound average rate of 20.6% to over $3.5 billion during the next five years, with the financial services and healthcare industries growing 26.4% and 18.7%, respectively, indicating substantial wireless market growth and potential for exploitation of wireless vulnerabilities.

Allan Carey, senior analyst for IDC's Information Security Services research notes, "With the wireless LAN equipment market projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41% between 2000 and 2005, the potential for damage caused by this type of vulnerability could be extensive. The increasing number of infrastructures to be augmented with wireless capabilities clearly requires a renewed vigilance on the part of software architects, systems integrators and network administrators."

Cigital's Solutions
When organizations rely solely on network security for protection and ignore software security, both sensitive information and legacy applications are exposed to significant risk. In order to properly evaluate business risk induced by software, Cigital recommends that companies fully understand the implications of using 802.11b wireless technology in business operations. Cigital offers a complete Wireless Vulnerability Assessment focused on the risks posed to network and application assets by the implementation of 802.11b wireless technologies. Cigital helps clients identify and manage these risks in production environments. For those organizations that are directly concerned about the Wireless ARP Poisoning vulnerability described in this release, Cigital offers a limited Wireless ARP Poisoning Assessment that evaluates a specific number of 802.11b wireless access points within a network to determine if the ARP Cache Poisoning vulnerability is present.

Additional details about the business risks and guidelines for wireless-enabling legacy systems are available at www.cigital.com/news/wireless/.

About Cigital

Headquartered in Northern Virginia, Cigital is the leading authority and industry visionary on Software Risk Management (SRM). Founded in 1992 on the simple, compelling premise that software must work, Cigital helps companies identify, analyze and reduce the risks of software failure—making their business operations and products more reliable, safe and secure. The Company delivers consulting services backed by the Cigital Advantage^SM, a methodological approach to full lifecycle SRM that is grounded in research and proven in practice. The constant innovation of its world-renowned Cigital Labs keeps Cigital at the forefront of software development and deployment, helping to solve the problems that affect businesses now, and anticipate and avoid potential future trouble spots. With additional offices in Boston and Dallas, Cigital helps companies get their software under control so they can take charge of their business.

Learn more about Cigital on the Web at http://www.cigital.com.

Contact:
Terri Randolph
Cigital
703-404-5757
trandolph@cigital.com