So what's the point of it really? Well, I took a robotics class and really liked working with hardware. But security is my main interest. Then I thought about doing an audit for rogue wireless access points around a corporate campus. It would take a while to walk around and war walk the campus. I can be a lazy sort, so I try to look for easier way to do things. So why not install the equipment on something that can do about 20 miles an hour? That ought to speed things up! An idea is born.
Really, I've found somewhat similar ideas for this while I've been researching for this project. So while I largely thought of this on my own, I still lose a few points for my lack of originality. But it will be fun and I will learn a lot along the way. That's really what this is about.
The Concept
- Create a mobile wireless detection platform that can cover a wide geographical area quickly.
- Provide near real time feed back to the operator.
- Use GPS to plot the location of detected access points.
- Save data for later analysis.
- Find and use enough information to locate the rogue access point.
- Optionally, use a 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer while performing the war driving. (I'm not sure how this will work, but I want to check it out.)
Most of the project is still scratched out in my notebook, but I will document
more of what I'm doing as I go. I have purchased most of the hardware already. It's been fun to say the least. Here's the bulk of my kit.I decided on the Kyosho Blizzard EV for the RC platform. It uses treads and has a low center of gravity, which will hopefully keep the shiny side up. More info on its upgraded form here.
Then we get to the wireless gear. I'm still waffling around some on how to set this up, but I think the WRTSL54GS for the Kismet device. I'm kicking around what to do with the lame antenna soldered into it. Unfortunately, it's not like the WRT54GL in the picture which has dual remove able antennae. But I think I can just clip the wire and add an adapter to the end. The idea of soldering a new antenna onto the board is a bit intimidating to me. I'll probably use the WRT54GL to relay information back to me via its wireless connection. I'm working with an old Zaurus PDA and trying to get a Netgear wireless card working on it. It has been a mixed experiment so far.
That's about where I am at so far. The car is assembled and I'm poking around on the WRTSL54GS to see how I can do what I want done. Next steps are:
- Design and fabricate the mounting platform for the wireless gear
- Order and fashion the antenna(s) that I will be using
- Order GPS equipment and mount it to the device
- Assemble the hardware into the completed vehicle
- Install, write, modify and integrate the software I'm researching together.
