You might say MAC address filtering is worse than not taking measures at all!īut there’s more. In other words, malicious attackers can effortlessly get past the security system just by using these tools to “spoof” (falsify) the MAC address. Tools to change MAC addresses are distributed on the Internet and easily available. As MAC addresses are not encrypted on the network, outsiders can clearly identify them by capturing packets from the wireless LAN.
Another reason why MAC address filtering is dangerous is ease of impersonation. In fact, it doesn't even have a limiting effect! What’s worse is that administrators often get a false sense of security by setting up MAC address filtering, because it actually tells attackers that the network security is not strictly managed. Strangely enough, it’s well-known that MAC address filtering has almost no effect in terms of security against today’s cyber-attacks targeting companies. “Often, users have a false sense of security by setting up MAC address filtering, which tells attackers that the network security is not strictly managed” “Sure,” they’ll tell you, “it might not be perfect, but it’s still something.” Many people therefore think of MAC address filtering as a quite decent solution to IT security problems. This is why MAC address filtering is sometimes called MAC address authentication, as if it were an authentication method. Basically, one or more network access servers, like switches or Wi-Fi access points, are configured with a whitelist that’s then used to allow or deny a device access to the network. In local networks, companies can use MAC addresses to make access whitelists or blacklists. MAC addresses often consist of six groups of hexadecimal numbers separated by hyphens or colons: On a higher level, MAC-addresses are translated into IP-addresses, which allow your device to communicate on the Internet. For example, when a device has an Ethernet port and a Wi-Fi adapter, it has two MAC-addresses: a MAC address for the Ethernet connection and a MAC address for the wireless connection. Devices can have two or more network interface cards. This applies to computers, phones, tablets, printers, but also a router or an Apple TV. Without a MAC address, no communication can take place. It’s assigned to each network interface card when it’s manufactured and serves as a permanent, physical identifier for that network interface on a local network. MAC address stands for Media Access Control Address. But if this is true, then what’s the modern-proof alternative? We’ll tell you in this article. Moreover, as MAC address filtering does give companies a false sense of security, it makes them extra vulnerable to security breaches.
MAC address filtering is actually far from safe, as it’s very easy to spoof a MAC address and gain access to the network unnoticed. Today, many organisations still use it to manage IT access, by letting in all whitelisted MAC addresses while keeping out the ones that aren’t. When you’re an IT manager, you’ve probably heard of MAC address filtering.
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