IoT devices aren’t randomizing their MAC address (yet) but being able to manage both IoT devices and mobile devices using random MAC addresses with the same security solution is a great first step. This works for both mobile devices and for IoT devices. RUCKUS DPSK is a unique key that identifies the device user, not the MAC address, to the network. There are options, such as RUCKUS Dynamic Pre-Shared Key (DPSK) that can provide a better alternative. This concept, MAC authentication, is rarely a good idea, but sometimes it’s all engineers think they have. Many times, network engineers rely on the MAC address to verify that the device attempting to associate is legitimate. Let’s break down some of the specific ways MAC randomization can break an existing network starting with security. I discussed why this is a big deal and now I’ll discuss - what do we do now? In part 1, I explained what is happening with MAC randomization.Īs a quick refresher, MAC randomization is a privacy feature that has been an optional setting in many devices but with the introduction of Apple’s iOS 14 operating system, it is now enabled by default.
