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The AKM (Authentication and Key Management) Suite List field within the RSN Information Element defines which authentication methods are supported by the AP. This field distinguishes between PSK (Pre-Shared Key) and Enterprise (802.1X) modes:

AKM Suite OUI 00-0F-AC:1 = WPA2-Personal (PSK)

AKM Suite OUI 00-0F-AC:2 = WPA2-Enterprise (802.1X)

By examining this field in Beacon or Probe Response frames, a protocol analyzer can determine the authentication method enforced by the BSS.

Hijacking attacks often rely on exploiting client behavior during signal disruption. Clients will seek better connections when RF is weak or interrupted. An attacker may:

Disrupt the signal (e.g., with a deauth attack)

Present a rogue access point (evil twin) with stronger signal

Trick the client into associating with the rogue AP, hijacking the session

Incorrect:

B. There is no standard 120-second timer behavior.

C. Loss of connectivity typically triggers reassociation and reauthentication.

D. Direct client-to-client connections are not required in infrastructure mode.

E. Band selection logic varies and is unrelated to hijacking attacks.

In this scenario, although the bank’s website uses HTTPS (which encrypts communications between John’s browser and the bank’s server), the compromise did not occur during the banking session itself. Instead, the attacker exploited a common security mistake: credential reuse.

John reused his email credentials for his bank login, and he accessed his email using a POP3 client without encryption at a public hotspot. This means his username and password were sent in cleartext, which is trivially easy to sniff on an open wireless network. Once an attacker obtained those credentials, they could use them to log into his bank account if the same credentials were used there.

Here's how this aligns with CWSP knowledge domains:

CWSP Security Threats & Attacks: This is a classic example of credential harvesting via cleartext protocols (POP3), and password reuse, both of which are significant risks in WLAN environments.

CWSP Secure Network Design: Recommends use of encrypted protocols (e.g., POP3S or IMAPS) and user education against password reuse.

CWSP WLAN Security Fundamentals: Emphasizes that open Wi-Fi networks offer no encryption by default, leaving unprotected protocols vulnerable to sniffing and interception.

Other answer options and why they are incorrect:

A & D are invalid because an expired or unsigned certificate may cause browser warnings but won’t result in sending credentials unencrypted unless the user bypasses HTTPS (which wasn’t stated).

C is incorrect: IPSec VPNs encrypt all data between the client and VPN endpoint—including credentials.

E is technically incorrect and misleading: intercepting the public key of an HTTPS session doesn't allow decryption of the credentials due to asymmetric encryption and session key security. Real-time decryption of HTTPS traffic without endpoint compromise is not feasible.

802.11w, also known as Protected Management Frames (PMF), is designed to protect specific types of 802.11 management frames such as disassociation and deauthentication frames. These frames were previously sent unencrypted and could be spoofed by attackers to disconnect clients (DoS attacks). With 802.11w, these frames are cryptographically protected, mitigating such attacks.

PMF also includes replay protection for these management frames, preventing attackers from capturing and replaying them to disrupt network connectivity.