Quarantine Wi-Fi

With the expansion of the wireless network (WLAN) at the BTU in 2009/2010 and the provision of new access procedures, the number of mobile devices operated in the WLAN increased significantly.

Unfortunately, this also increased the number of WLAN devices infected with malware (viruses, worms, Trojans or bots).

In November 2010 alone, more than 50 security incidents originating from the BTU's WLAN were recorded.

Malware is often designed to perform one or more of the following activities:

• Collecting confidential information (access data, passwords, account and credit card numbers, etc.) and forwarding this information to unauthorised third parties.
• Preparing and/or carrying out attacks on network devices.
• Spreading malware, usually by exploiting existing vulnerabilities in operating systems and software products.

In January 2011, a quarantine Wi-Fi network was put into operation with the following features:

• Mobile devices that have already attracted attention and are suspected of containing malware are immediately placed in a quarantine network when they log on to the BTU Wi-Fi network.
• In the quarantine network, the computers are isolated from each other and have no access to the campus network or the Internet, meaning they cannot cause any damage to other devices in the network.
• When attempting to open any website, information about the malware suspected on the computer is displayed in the Internet browser of a computer in quarantine.
• Links to antivirus products are also displayed to help users of computers infected with malware remove the malware from their computers.