Wireless and radio on a network diagram
The parts of the network that travel through the air, and how far they reach.
11 objects in this group, each named in plain English with the technical terms kept as searchable aliases. 11 of them carry attack notes, and every one of those ships beside the defences that reduce it. Each has an entry of its own.
Wi-Fi access point
AP · wireless · WAP
Lets devices join the network without a cable.
Wireless network name
SSID · network name · WLAN · guest wifi
The name devices show in their list of available wireless networks.
Wireless controller
WLC · wireless LAN controller · AP controller · cloud-managed wireless
The single system that configures and watches every wireless access point.
Mobile broadband router
4G router · 5G router · cellular modem · MiFi · dongle · tethering
A box, or a phone, that gives a network its own connection through the mobile phone network.
Mobile broadband router: what it is and how it is attacked →
Satellite terminal
VSAT · satcom · satellite internet · BGAN
A dish or flat panel that connects a site to the internet through a satellite.
Satellite time and location receiver
GPS · GNSS · GPS clock · grandmaster clock · timing source
A device that works out where it is, and what the time is, from satellites.
Satellite time and location receiver: what it is and how it is attacked →
Bluetooth device
BT · Bluetooth Low Energy · BLE · pairing · wireless keyboard
Something that connects to a phone or a computer over a short-range radio link: a headset, a keyboard, a car.
Low-power radio device
LoRa · LoRaWAN · Zigbee · Z-Wave · sub-GHz · wireless sensor
A small battery-powered sensor or switch that sends short messages over a long range: a meter, a door contact, a thermostat.
Radio gateway
IoT gateway · LoRaWAN gateway · Zigbee hub · protocol bridge · smart hub
The box that turns messages from small wireless sensors into ordinary network traffic.
Contactless reader
NFC reader · tap reader · payment terminal · card terminal
A pad that reads a card, a phone or a wristband held against it, usually to take a payment.
Wireless monitoring sensor
WIDS · WIPS · wireless intrusion detection · air monitor
Equipment that listens to the airwaves and reports transmitters that should not be there.
Wireless monitoring sensor: what it is and how it is attacked →
The other groups
- Network6The paths traffic travels along.
- Cloud and subscribed services12Things that only exist because somebody else runs the platform underneath them.
- Security and edge11The things that sit in front of something else and check what is trying to reach it.
- Servers13Machines that run something for other machines.
- Storage4Where data sits still.
- Endpoints and devices8The things people and processes touch directly.
- Identity6Who something claims to be, and what proves it.
- People and organisations4The humans and the entities they belong to.
- Places3Physical locations and regions.
- Process flow7Shapes for describing a procedure rather than a network.
- Threats15The adversary and the things they bring.
Draw it rather than read it
Every object above is in the editor. Press N, type a few letters of the plain name or the acronym, and it is placed and connected to whatever was selected. Nothing is uploaded, because the page is served with a Content Security Policy that forbids the browser from making any outbound request at all.
Open the diagram makerThe catalogue behind this page is published as open data under CC BY 4.0, last reviewed . Every attack note describes a mechanism and contains no procedure. Corrections are welcome.