Definition
Wardialing is the technique of deploying technology to automatically scan many phone numbers to disclose linked devices, including modems, computers, and other office appliances. A war-dialing call searches for the electronic equipment’s handshake tones and stamps out numbers that link to answering machines or human operators.
Cybersecurity experts or hackers can use wardialing results to identify security flaws and possible entry points into a system. The phrase itself originates from the 1983 movie ‘WarGames’. The method was initially known as ‘demon dialing’ and ‘hammer dialing.’
Actual Wardialing Examples
- 1990s: Peter Shipley conducted a study to identify whether modems posed a security threat to their owners using wardialing methods.
Preventing Wardialing Attacks
- Scan your devices with assistance from cybersecurity specialists and wardialing software.
- Discovering possible vulnerabilities can help you protect your devices from future attacks.
- Use robust passwords to safeguard your devices from cybercriminals.
- Turn off unused devices, including those that need to be active only during specific periods, to reduce your attack surface.
- Educate employees on responding to potential wardialing assaults, like calls to workplace devices that respond with a dial-up connection sound or regular calls during off-hours. The staff must instantly inform IT experts to give the enterprise time to upgrade its systems.