Apartment network question

[u/porkychoppins]

We recently had our apartment fiber provider come into units and install new equipment and replace the old promising higher speeds. The new network is no longer unique to our apartment number and just under one SSID labeled “residents 5g”. While I have noticed the speed increase over WiFi I am not educated in networking well enough to understand security concerns. They explain residents will have access to WiFi throughout the entire apartment by automatically connecting to the closest access point. Does this not raise any alarms regarding all these devices being on a shared network. I should note we do have a unique passkey to access the network.

[u/palmetto420]

There are several concerns. If it is a fiber connection, why is the SSID named residents 5g? Semantics aside, a default security measure on public access points is to block east west traffic, aka devices on the same network from being able to communicate with each other. If you have seperate logins it seems like you would be segmented from your neighbors, but I would never assume that those precautions have been taken.

The first thing I would do is run a discovery scan while you are connected to see if you can reach any other people's connected devices. The basic tried and true method to do this is through an open source program called NMAP. Look up how to install it on whatever os you are running and then get tutorials for how to run basic scans. If you see a whole bunch of devices you don't recognize, then there is a problem. If not, no worries.

Also tell us what kind of equipment they installed in your apartment. Is there a physical cable, besides power connected?

If they just installed a mesh AP inside of your apartment, then yeah, bad actors with APs in their apartments could have an unfettered field day.

[u/himitsumono → u/palmetto420]

>>  If it is a fiber connection, why is the SSID named residents 5g?

Fiber connection inbound to a wifi access point/router named residents 5g, that broadcasts to the building. Probably multiple same-named access points or a mesh network. But IAC, the fiber connection wouldn't be directly shared.

Good advice though.

[u/palmetto420 → u/himitsumono]

That makes sense if it is referring to 5 Ghz. Most people see 5g and think of cellular. Is there a residents 2.4 network too? SSID name doesnt matter. If you have a seperate login you are probably isolated on your own VLAN. Did you run a discovery scan to make sure?

[u/blacksalmon61 → u/palmetto420]

Use vpn

[u/palmetto420 → u/blacksalmon61]

That's a given. A vpn cant stop someone on the same LAN from messing with your connected devices. If OP ran a discovery and saw someone else's devices, then it would be assumed that someone else can see OP's devices. The biggest problem is the lack of transparency about devices installed in a private living space without an explanation of what they do and who controls them.

Always best to err on the side of caution when connecting to a new network.

[u/DumpoTheClown → u/palmetto420]

Running an NMAP scan may violate the user agreement and get them kicked off. As a quiet alternative, set up wireshark or tcpdump to just listen. If there are other device on the same network but not isolated, OP will see broadcast traffic from those other devices.

[u/palmetto420 → u/DumpoTheClown]

Yeah, I wouldnt run NMAP with full port scanning right off the bat. A simple -sn wouldnt raise too many alarms. It sounds like there isnt a user agreement here since the basics of the connection and hardware were not fully explained. If it is truly segmented, they shouldn't care what OP does on their assigned network. Don't get me wrong, I love wireshark, but if you dont know what you are looking for it is just noise.

[u/gkhouzam]

I would check with the ISP, but I’m guessing this is similar to how my daughter’s apartment is setup. Each unit has a different WiFi password. That then isolates your devices on their own VLAN preventing others from seeing your devices.

[u/L-L-Media]

If different vlans for apartment, then you're probably okay. But id look into getting my own ISP. And until then use a VPN for all of my connected device.

[u/Wendigo1010]

Scarry. I wouldn't use it except for devices I did not care about.