HACKING PROJECT · wireless · Intermediate
802.11 Packet Analyzer
Decode and analyze 802.11 frames to expose protocol behavior and detect wireless-layer attacks.
Wireless troubleshooting and security analysis require deep understanding of 802.11 frame structure, yet most analysts treat Wi-Fi as a black box and rely on GUI tools without grasping management, control, and data frame semantics. This knowledge gap hinders detection of attacks like deauth floods, evil twins, and malformed-frame exploits that manifest only at the RF/MAC layer. There is a need for a purpose-built analyzer that decodes 802.11 frames and surfaces security-relevant anomalies.
**What you'll build**
Build a monitor-mode packet analyzer that dissects 802.11 frame types/subtypes (beacon, probe, auth, assoc, deauth, data, QoS), parses information elements and security parameters (RSN/WPA IE), tracks per-BSSID/STA state machines, and flags anomalies such as deauthentication storms, channel hopping, and rate anomalies. Provide live capture, PCAP import, filtering, and a security-oriented dashboard that complements Wireshark with attack-detection heuristics.
**Objective** — Decode and analyze 802.11 frames to expose protocol behavior and detect wireless-layer attacks.
**Expected outcome** — A functional 802.11 analyzer that parses all frame types, extracts RSN/security IEs, and generates real-time alerts for deauth/disassoc and evil-twin indicators.
**Difficulty** — Intermediate — deep 802.11 frame parsing and state tracking, but built on well-documented protocols and existing libraries.
**Primary category** — Wireless Security / Network Analysis; Secondary = Threat Hunting, DFIR, Protocol Analysis
**Security domains** — Primary = Blue Team; Secondary = Security Research, Red Team, Digital Forensics
**Technical focus** — 802.11 MAC layer, management/control/data frames, RSN/WPA information elements, radiotap headers, deauth/disassoc detection, state-machine tracking, PCAP analysis, anomaly detection
**Core technologies** — Languages: Python, C (optional for performance); Frameworks/Libraries: Scapy, dpkt, pyshark, radiotap parsers; Security Tools: Wireshark/tshark, aircrack-ng suite, Kismet; Cloud/Infra: Linux with monitor-capable adapter; AI/Data: pandas, matplotlib; Databases: SQLite, PCAP files
**Where it's valued** — Enterprise IT/networking, security consultancies, MSSPs, telecom, incident response teams
**Careers it builds toward** — Wireless Security Engineer, SOC Analyst, Network Security Analyst, DFIR Analyst, Security Researcher
**Framework alignment**
• MITRE ATT&CK: Detects Network Denial of Service T1498 (deauth flood), Adversary-in-the-Middle T1557, Rogue Wi-Fi / Evil Twin (map as AiTM); Discovery T1040 Network Sniffing (tool technique)
• NIST CSF 2.0: Detect (anomalies and events, security continuous monitoring), Identify, Respond
• OWASP: N/A (network layer)
• CIS Controls v8: Control 13 (Network Monitoring and Defense), Control 8 (Audit Log Management), Control 12 (Network Infrastructure Management)
**Innovation** — Improved Existing Solution — analyzers exist (Wireshark, Kismet), but a security-focused, attack-detecting dissector with clean heuristics has training and tooling value. Scores: Innovation 5/10, Startup 4/10, Enterprise-Readiness 5/10, Patent = No.