User's Manual

9 Network topology configuration 21
7signal Ltd, Panuntie 6, FI-00620 HELSINKI, FINLAND, [phone], [e-mail], www.7signal.com
7signal Sapphire Carat Carat User Guide Release 3.1
9.1.3 Hidden Networks
7signal Sapphire considers a hidden network to be a property of certain Organization. The
network scans are based on listening and actively requesting beacon information on the
Service Areas. The hidden networks shall not actively transmit beacons nor respond to
requests with partial information only. Due to this the various scans - including the initial scan -
in 7signal Sapphire do not capture hidden networks. Tests related to traffic analysis shall
contain also information on hidden networks but the capture is not used as a technique in
scans.
NOTE: Hiding the network SSID should not be used as a security as it does not
limit sending the beacons or SSID names in payload frames but leaves only
network SSID field blank in beacon signal. Any attacker or publicly available
analysis tool can find hidden network as soon as there are any payload packets in
the network. Even popular operating systems may present hidden network after a
certain period of time. If SSID name is not transmitted, client devices are forced to
start probing their access points continuously. This increase significantly radio
interface traffic overhead and lowers overall network performance.
To add a hidden network to 7signal Sapphire follow the steps below.
1. locate the Organization with a hidden network from the Topology tree
2. Right-click menu on the Service Area and select "Wireless networks"
3. Enter the relevant data on the hidden network on the pane that opened on the right
a. Name type (optional): currently only text strings are supported SSIDs
b. Name: the name of the network - not friendly name but SSID
c. Description (optional): description on the hidden network
d. Contact person (optional): the administrator for the hidden network
e. Key: the name of the wlan network access key that has been stored earlier to
the system
4. Select "Save" to store the data to the system
The pane "All Wireless Networks" shows all defined networks. By choosing the network it is
possible to change the current data. Button "Remove" deletes the network and the related
information from the system.
9.1.4 Removing Networks
All networks managed by Sapphire are displayed in the Network topology. Networks can be
deleted on the organization level. To delete a network from the Network topology:
1. From the Network topology, select the organization containing the wireless network
you wish to remove
2. Right-click the organization and select “View wireless network” – then the “All
Wireless Networks” view is displayed in the right-hand pane
3. Select from the list the network you want to remove
4. Click “Remove”