Rogue access point

Definition
A rogue access point is a wireless access point that has either been installed on a secure company network without explicit authorization from a local network administrator, or has been created to allow a hacker to conduct a man-in-the-middle attack.

Overview
Rogue access points of the first kind can pose a security threat to large organizations with many employees, because anyone with access to the premises can ignorantly or maliciously install an inexpensive wireless router that can potentially allow access to a secure network to unauthorized parties. Rogue access points of the second kind target networks that do not employ mutual authentication (client-server/server-client) and may be used in conjunction with a rogue RADIUS server, depending on security configuration of the target network.

To prevent the installation of rogue access points, organizations can install wireless intrusion prevention systems to monitor the radio spectrum for unauthorized access points.